Mutagenicity of trichloroethylene, trichloroethanol and chloral hydrate in Aspergillus nidulans.

A trichloroethylene (TCE) sample, free of epoxides, has been assayed for its ability to induce gene mutations (methionine suppressors) and mitotic segregation in the mould Aspergillus nidulans. No increase in the spontaneous frequency of methionine suppressors was observed when conidia of a haploid strain were plated on selective medium and exposed to TCE vapours. A weak but statistically significant increase in methionine suppressors was detected, however, when conidia of cultures grown and conidiated in the presence of TCE vapours were plated onto selective media. Growing colonies of a heterozygous diploid strain were exposed to TCE vapours to investigate the induction of mitotic segregation. Scoring and phenotypic analysis of segregant sectors showed a significant increase in the frequency of haploids and 'non-disjunctional' diploids but not of cross-overs. Treatment of quiescent conidia in liquid medium was ineffective. Trichloroethanol and chloral hydrate, two main TCE metabolites in mammals, shared the ability to induce somatic segregation demonstrated by TCE vapours. On the grounds of these results the possible endogenous metabolic conversion of TCE into trichloroethanol and chloral hydrate is hypothesized.