Abstract
The theme of the conference on “Genotoxic Effects of Airborne Agents” concerned the state of the art of bioassay systems from cultured microbes to laboratory animals and their application to the assessment of human health effects of airborne environmental contaminents. The major emphasis for short-term bioassays has been placed on bacterial and mammalian cell lines. However, for increased perspective on the state-of-the-art of specific in vitro assays it is important to consider the environmental impact on whole organisms by reviewing the contributions made by in vivo assays. The more classical non-mammalian in vivo systems such as Drosophila, Zea mays and Tradescantia are characterized by well defined genetic bases, versatility in mode of treatment, relatively low cost and short term and/or high sensitivity to both physical (radiation) and chemical mutagens (1–5). This paper will deal exclusively with somatic mutation in the Tradescantiastamen hair: describing the system briefly, demonstrating its relevance to environmental mutagen assessment and discussing its adaptation for in situ ambient atmosphere monitoring.
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© 1982 Plenum Press, New York
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Schairer, L.A., Sautkulis, R.C., Tempel, N.R. (1982). Monitoring Ambient Air for Mutagenicity Using the Higher Plant Tradescantia . In: Tice, R.R., Costa, D.L., Schaich, K.M. (eds) Genotoxic Effects of Airborne Agents. Environmental Science Research, vol 25. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3455-2_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3455-2_11
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