Sodium and potassium nitrite-induced developmental genotoxicity in Drosophila melanogaster – effects in larval immune and brain stem cells

This present report reveals the important aspects of sodium and potassium nitrite-induced genotoxicity during the development of a model organism, Drosophila melanogaster. Dietary sodium nitrite at ≥20 mM concentration caused significant nuclear deformation of two important larval cells, namely hemocytes and neuroblasts, that play important roles in immunity as well as growth and metamorphosis of the fly. In contrast, potassium nitrite induced significant nuclear deformities only in hemocytes at 30 mM concentration. Due to the unavailability of any report regarding the developmental genotoxic effects of nitrite food preservatives in immune and neural stem cells, results of our study deserve special mention as these provide first evidences of genotoxicity in these cells of the developing Drosophila larvae by these food additives.