Phytotoxicity and Genotoxicity Study of Reactive Red 141 Dye in Mung Bean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek)

Abstract

Abstract An assessment of the phytotoxicity and genotoxicity of reactive red (RR) 141 dye was conducted using mung bean seedlings (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek). The dye exhibited phytotoxic effects, causing delayed germination and growth inhibition in pot plants. Plant parameters such as percentage of germination and seedling vigor index (SVI) were significantly reduced in mung beans treated with the dye at concentrations of 50 and 100 ml/L compared to the control group. Pot plant experiments were conducted with short-term (14 days) and long-term (60 days) exposures in paddy soil pot culture. In the short-term exposure, both plumule and radical lengths were significantly and dose-dependently decreased. In the long-term exposure, the dye affected plant length and grain weight, but had no impact on pod number, pod length, and seed number. To evaluate genotoxicity, high annealing temperature-random amplified polymorphic DNA (HAT-RAPD) analysis was used to detect DNA damage. Five RAPD primers with 58–75% GC content were utilized, resulting in the detection of polymorphic band patterns. A total of 116 bands were generated, with molecular sizes ranging from 433 to 2857 bp in the plant leaves exposed to the dye. Polymorphisms were observed as the disappearance and/or appearance of DNA bands in both concentration treatments compared to the control, and decreased genomic template stability (GTS) values indicated changes in the HAT-RAPD profiles, indicating DNA damage and mutation. These findings demonstrate that mung beans exposed to RR 141 dye experience significant effects on genomic template stability (GTS) and exhibit phytotoxic and genotoxic responses. This study highlights the potential of RR 141 dye as a harmful agent in plant model systems