DNA staining with the fluorochromes EtBr, DAPI and YOYO-1 in the comet assay with tobacco plants after treatment with ethyl methanesulphonate, hyperthermia and DNase-I.

We applied the alkaline version of the single-cell gel electrophoresis (comet) assay to roots and leaves of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum var. xanthi) seedlings or isolated leaf nuclei treated with: (1) the alkylating agent ethyl methanesulphonate, (2) necrotic heat treatments at 50 degrees C, and (3) DNase-I. All three treatments induced a dose-dependent increase in DNA migration, expressed as percentage of tail DNA.

Polyclonal antibodies to a recombinant coat protein of Potato virus A.

Specific mouse antibodies against a recombinant coat protein (CP) of Potato virus A (PVA) were produced. The PVA CP gene was cloned in an expression vector pMPM4omega. After expression in Escherichia coli the presence of the expressed CP was proved by Western blot analysis using polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies (MAbs).

Monitoring the genotoxicity of soil extracts from two heavily polluted sites in Prague using the Tradescantia stamen hair and micronucleus (MNC) assays.

We have taken soil samples from two sites in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, that are heavily polluted by motor vehicles. As a negative control, soil samples from a recreational site in Prague with no motor vehicle traffic were used. Soil samples from these sites were extracted with water or 5% dimethylsulphoxide (DMSO) for 24 h and cuttings of Tradescantia clone 4430 were immersed for 12 h at 25 degrees C in the extraction solutions.