Assessment of genotoxic effects of copper on Cucumber Plant (Cucumis sativus L.) using Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD-PCR) markers

The aim of this study was to evaluate the genotoxic effects of copper on Cucumis sativus L., fife levels of copper sulfate as aqueous solutions were added as a total concentrate of the soil using the concentrations (100, 200, 300, 400, 500) milligrams per one kilogram of soil, the control soil were using without additional copper sulfate. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique was used for detection of genotoxic produced by this metal. Twenty one primers were used, of which three did not amplify, three gave extremely faint and ambiguous bands and the rest of fifteen primers generated single and polymorphic bands. All genomic DNA of Cucumis sativus L. exposed to copper sulfate solutions displayed polymorphic fragments which were not detectable in DNA of unexposed plants, but high concentration (500 mg/kg soil) of copper sulfate had the strongest effect on genomic DNA of Cucumis sativus L. when compared with other concentrations. Thus, this study confirmed that RAPD markers, as a fast, and simple technique can be used for detection of genotoxic effects of copper on Cucumis sativus L. plants which are growing in heavy metal polluted soils.