DNA Damage Assessment in Zebrafish Embryos Exposed to Monceren(®) 250 SC Fungicide Using the Alkaline Comet Assay.

Monceren 250 SC is a commercial fungicide with the active ingredient 1-(4-chlorobenzyl)-1-(cyclopentyl)-3-phenylurea, also known as pencycuron. This compound inhibits the growth of fungi as Rhizoctonia solani that invades potato, rice, and cotton or as Pellicularia spp, which contaminates lettuce and tomato crops. In this study, we assessed genotoxicity or DNA damage by the alkaline comet assay in zebrafish blastula-stage embryos exposed to 250 to 1250 μg/mL of the Monceren fungicide or to Bleomycin (0.25 μg/mL) used as a positive control. Additionally, survival and spontaneous movement were monitored in embryos after exposure to different concentrations of fungicide. DNA damage was evaluated using three genotoxicity parameters of the alkaline comet assay: tail length, tail moment, and tail intensity. We found that Monceren 250 SC fungicide induces DNA damage, as shown by significant increases in the three genotoxicity parameters in zebrafish embryos compared with control embryos nonexposed to Monceren. Tail intensity was the more accurate parameter to evaluate genotoxicity levels in zebrafish embryos. At 48 h after exposure to the fungicide, the survival rate of larvae-embryos was reduced to 40-45%. This study shows that the Monceren 250 SC fungicide exerts genotoxic effects in zebrafish during early stages of development.