Assessment of lead heavy metal on the genome of E. coli

Backgrounds: According to studies, heavy metals and cations have antibacterial properties, sowhen it enters the human food chain, it can damage the natural flora of the humans, especiallythe natural flora of the intestine, and any reduction in microorganisms in the intestine can lead todisease. There are some studies that point out indirect mechanisms of genotoxicity such asdamage of DNA.Materials and Methods: At the first MIC (minimum Inhibitory concentration) and MBC(Minimum Bactericial Concentration) test was done to obtain that prevents bacterial growth.Growth rate of bacteria at different concentrations of lead was evaluated usingspectrophotometer at ۶۰۰ nm. In order to investigate the effects of lead heavy metal on thegenome, the chain reaction techniques of Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus(ERIC-PCR) was employed. The results obtained from electrophoresis of PCR products onagarose gel were analyzed.Results: The minimum inhibitory concentration for Escherichia coli was less than ۱۰ mg/mLand the Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) was twice the MIC concentration. Theresults of the study revealed that lead heavy metal not only affects the growth of bacteria but alsoaffect the sequencing of genomic DNA and leads to the changes of them in different points. Theresult of the gel analysis was that the primer did not bind to some areas of the heavy metal DNAfragments.Conclusion: Results of current study showed that lead has the ability to damage and mutationsin the genome.

Keywords:

Heavy Metal , Escherichia coli , ERIC-PCR , MIC , Lead