3-Amino-1-methyl-9,10-dihydro-phenanthrene-2,4-dicarbonitrile

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C(17)H(13)N(3), contains two independent mol-ecules, which are non-planar as they are buckled owing to the ethyl-ene portion. The dihedral angle between the benzene rings is 26.4 (1)° in one mol-ecule and 32.9 (1)° in the other. In the crystal, the mol-ecules are disposed about a false inversion center, and are linked by two N-H⋯N hydrogen bonds, generating a dimer. The dimers are linked by further N-H⋯N hydrogen bonds, resulting in a chain that runs along the longest axis of the ortho-rhom-bic unit cell.

AFLP analysis as biomarker of exposure to organic and inorganic genotoxic substances in plants

In recent years several plant species have been in use as bioindicators and several tests have been developed to evaluate the toxicity of environmental pollutants in vegetal organisms. In the present paper Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. (ecotype Wassilewskija) was used as bioindicators of two genotoxic substances: potassium dichromate and dihydrophenanthrene. Inhibition of seed germination was observed with both pollutants. AFLP analysis (i) indicated that both substances are genotoxic, (ii) showed that dihydrophenanthrene induces DNA changes in different target sequences than potassium dichromate, (iii) quantified the genotoxic effect using cluster analysis by comparing DNA from treated plants with that of control plants. On the basis of these considerations we suggest that AFLP method is a powerful tool for measuring qualitative and quantitative genotoxic activity due to environmental pollutants. AFLP method can be applied to a wide range of bioindicator organisms and may become a universal methodology to identify target genes for specific genotoxic agents. This could open up possibilities for designing specifically targeted assays and new approaches to risk assessment.