Genotoxicity of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid tested in somatic and germ-line cells of Drosophila.

The genotoxic potential of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, a commonly used chlorophenoxy herbicide, was tested in Drosophila somatic and germ-line cells following the protocols of the wing spot test and the sex-linked recessive lethal test. In the wing spot test second- and third-instar larvae, carrying genetic markers mwh and flr3, were exposed to different concentrations of the herbicide so that induced genetic changes would be phenotypically expressed as mosaic spots on the wings of eclosing adults. The Basc (Muller-5) standard technique but with larval exposure was followed for the sex-linked recessive lethal test. The results obtained indicate that the test compound is genotoxic both in the somatic and germ-line cells of Drosophila.