Authors:
M. N. KURBANOVA, candidate of biological sciences, senior research fellow,
N. M. SURAEVA, doctor of biological sciences, chief researcher,
V. P. RACHKOVA, research fellow,
A. V. SAMOYLOV, candidate of biological sciences, deputy director,
Russian Research Institute of Canning Technology – Branch of V. M. Gorbatov Federal Research Center for Food Systems for RAS (78 Shkolnaya str., 142703, Vidnoe, Moscow district).
Abstract. The allium test is one of the most popular methods for assessing the toxic, mutagenic and mitosis-modifying effects of various chemical, physical and biological factors and is recommended by WHO experts as a standard for cytogenetic monitoring of the environment. In this test, the roots of onions are used as a test object. In accordance with the procedure of this test, a toxicity test should be performed before the cytogenetic analysis, in which a parameter such as root growth is examined. At the same time, the most accurate and at the same time the most time-consuming method remained, based on measuring the average length of roots for the entire sample of bulbs. The work is devoted to the evaluation of the effectiveness of using such a macroscopic index for detecting the toxicity of mitogens, as the mass of the roots of onions, using the Allium test. When setting up experiments with the standard positive control (copper sulphate solution) for this test, the same significant decrease in both the mean length and the average root mass was shown, while the sensitivity of the root weight was even 3.2 % higher. Similar data were obtained with a model toxic agent – ethyl alcohol, regardless of the onion variety, duration and temperature of the incubation or type of water from which the solution was prepared (distilled and bottled). As a result of the research it was shown that the method of measuring the average mass of bulb roots in the Allium test can be used as the standard parameter of root growth, which is the most simple in application and sensitive.
Keywords: allium test, toxicity, root growth dynamics, mutagen.
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