Metal bioaccumulation and mutagenesis in a Tradescantia clone following long-term exposure to soils from urban industrial areas and closed landfills

Abstract Soil mutagens, particularly metals, may persist long after the source of pollution has been removed, representing a hazard to plants, animals, and humans in or near contaminated areas. Often, due to urban growth, previous land uses may be forgotten and hazards overlooked. We exposed Tradescantia clone #4430 plants to soil from two industrial areas (with different former uses) and two urban waste landfills in the city of Vilnius, all of which were long disused. Two modes of exposure were used: long-term exposure of growing plants in test soils for 0.5 or 1.0 y, and short-term exposure of cuttings to water and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) soil extracts. An increased frequency of micronuclei (MN) was observed with both modes of exposure. The concentrations of 24 metals and other elements were analyzed in the test soils and in above-ground plant parts, under both exposure modes, and the concentration coefficients (Cc) for various elements, the total contamination index (Zs) for soils and plants, and the bioaccumulation factor (BAF) for plants were calculated. These measurements allow a comparison of the contamination levels of soils and plants with equalized values. Metal accumulation levels in plants and soils showed significant differences, providing a better understanding of the genotoxicity of soils from closed landfills and highlighting the need to determine the concentrations of metals and other genotoxicants in plants in relation to genotoxicity.