Cytotoxic and genotoxic assessment of 2-chloropyridine using Allium cepa ana-telophase and comet test

2-Chloropyridine (2-CPY) is an important precursor of cosmetics, pesticides and other pharmaceutical products and it is also defined as trace chemical in industrial wastewater as the products of the metabolites of agricultural chemical products and river pollutants. In this study, the effects of 2-CPY on mitotic index (MI), mitotic phase frequencies, chromosome aberrations (CAs) and DNA damage in Allium cepa root cells were investigated with Allium ana-telophase and comet assay. Concentrations of 0.5xEC50 (25 ppm), EC50 (50 ppm) and 2xEC50 (100 ppm) of 2-CPY, Methyl methanesulfonate (MMS-10 ppm, positive control) and distilled water (negative control) were applied to A. cepa roots for 24, 48, 72 and 96 h. 2-CPY showed a cytotoxic effect by reducing root growth and MI, but also showed genotoxic effect by increasing CAs (disturbed ana-telophase, chromosome laggards, stickiness, bridges and polyploidy) and DNA damage at substantial levels. The amount of 2-CPY was shown to be increased statistically in both duration and dose by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). 2-CPY should be used carefully and investigated its cyto-genotoxic effects with other toxicology test systems.