Effect of Bisphenol-A on Nucleic Acids during Germination in Mung Bean Seedlings

The extensive use of bisphenol-A (BPA) based polymers leads to widespread environmental contamination. Since agricultural soils are often enriched with activated sewage sludge, biosolids that may contain BPA, organisms dwelling in the soil and of course the rooted plants could encounter BPA from that source. However, few studies have examined the toxicological effects of BPA in plants which are able to take up and accumulate BPA. Since germination stage is more sensitive, the present study was carried out on the toxic effect of BPA on nucleic acids in mung bean seedlings. Controls were treated with distilled water and other lots of seeds were treated separately with 0.3 mM, 0.4 mM, 0.7 mM concentration of BPA in petridishes. The plant growth was retarded in a dose dependent manner with BPA treatment. The nucleic acids were isolated and estimated on 4^th day of germination. Both DNA and RNA contents were found to be decreased with BPA exposure. The purified samples subjected to electrophoresis further revealed the DNA degradation in a dose dependent manner.