Activation of chemicals into mutagens by green plants: a preliminary discussion.

This paper is a review of recent studies that demonstrate the activation of chemicals (especially pesticides into mutagens by green plants. Such activation of pesticides may be hazardous to the public health because of their widespread use in agriculture and the current lack of information that exists about such processes. The mutagenic properties of the s-triazine herbicides (atrazine, simazine, and cyanazine) as exhibited in various assay systems are discussed. In vivo, in vitro, and in situ plant assays are presented, and the maize wx locus assay is discussed.