Evaluation of genotoxicity of Pseudevernia furfuracea (L.) Zopf by RAPD analysis.

We investigated the suitability and applicability of Pseudevernia furfuracea (L.) Zopf for environmental genotoxicity assessment. P. furfuracea lichen specimens were collected from 10 different Pinus species, in every 5 km, starting from around an iron-steel factory located in the central area of Karabük Province up to Yenice Forest. The impact of the pollution sources such as iron-steel factory, roads and railroads, industry, heavy traffic, and waste treatment plants on the heavy metal accumulation in lichens is known. DNA changes in P. furfuracea samples exposed naturally to various polluted sites were analyzed by RAPD to know the influence of the environmental pollution on the hereditary material of the organisms. Twenty-five different primers were tested and 10 yielded clear and reproducible bands. The present study shows the suitability of the lichen samples for the detection of genotoxicity and also provides information about the level of potential genotoxic agents around a steel mill.