Genotoxicity and oxidative stress induced by pesticide exposure in bovine lymphocyte cultures in vitro.

The genotoxic activity of the pesticides gliphosate, vinclozolin and DPX-E9636 was studied in in vitro cultures of bovine lymphocytes, using chromosome aberration (CA) and sister chromatid exchange (SCE) frequencies as genetic end-points and a variation of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) enzyme activity as a marker of changes in the normal cell redox state. Results indicated a statistically significant increase of structural aberrations, sister chromatid exchanges and G6PD activity, suggesting that the pesticides tested induce either oxidative stress or a mutagenic effect in this species. The evaluation of both mitotic index and cell viability, after pesticide exposure, demonstrates a high cytotoxic effect which is always associated with the observed genotoxic effect.