Toxicity and mutagenicity of 2,4,-6-trinitrotoluene and its microbial metabolites

• Published in: Applied and Environmental Microbiology
• Main Authors: Won, W D, DiSalvo, L H, Ng, J
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Society for Microbiology 1976
• Subjects: Crassostrea gigas; Copepods
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/aem.31.4.576-580.1976; https://journals.asm.org/doi/pdf/10.1128/aem.31.4.576-580.1976

TNT (2,4,6-trinitrotoluene) of explosive grade is highly toxic to marine forms that included fresh water unicellular green algae (Selenastrum capricornutum), tidepool copepods (Tigriopus californicus), and oyster larvae (Crassostrea gigas), and mutagenic to Salmonella typhimurium. On the basis of mutagenic assays carried out with a set of histidine-requiring strains of the bacterium, TNT was detected as a frameshift mutagen that significantly accelerates the reversion rate of a frameshift tester, TA-98. In contrast, the major microbial metabolites of TNT appeared to be nontoxic and nonmutagenic.