Chromosomal aberrations and their mechanisms have been studied for many years in livestock. In cattle, chromosomal abnormalities are often associated with serious reproduction-related problems, such as infertility of carriers and early mortality of embryos. In the present work, we review the mechanisms and consequences of the most important bovine chromosomal aberrations: Robertsonian translocations and reciprocal translocations. We also discuss the application of bovine cell cultures in genotoxicity studies.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of triazole fungicide Prosaro^® (tebuconazole/prothioconazole) on the induction of micronuclei (MNs) and DNA damage in bovine peripheral lymphocytes. Whole blood cultures or isolated lymphocytes were exposed to 1.5, 3, 7.5, 15 and 30 μg ml⁻¹ concentrations of triazole formulation for 24 and 48 h, or 2 h for MN and Comet assays. For 24 and 48 h of incubation with the fungicide no significant elevations in the MN frequencies in bovine lymphocytes were found. However, a clear reduction of cytochalasin-blocked proliferation index (CBPI) was observed in the donors (p < 0.05, p < 0.01, and p < 0.001). After the prolonged time of exposure the highest concentrations resulted in nearly total inhibition of cell proliferation (30 μg ml⁻¹). After the use of Comet assay, only a moderate increase in DNA damage without statistical significance was recorded, except the highest concentration (30 μg ml⁻¹; p < 0.05).

The effects of triazole fungicide Tango^® (epoxiconazole) and two neonicotinoid insecticide formulations Mospilan^® (acetamiprid) and Calypso^® (thiacloprid) were investigated in Candida albicans and three non-albicans species Candida pulcherrima, Candida glabrata and Candida tropicalis to assess the range of morphological, metabolic and genetic changes after their exposure to pesticides. Moreover, the bioavailability of pesticides, which gives us information about their metabolization was assessed using gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometry (GC-MS). The tested pesticides caused differences between the cells of the same species in the studied populations in response to ROS accumulation, the level of DNA damage, changes in fatty acids (FAs) and phospholipid profiles, change in the percentage of unsaturated to saturated FAs or the ability to biofilm. In addition, for the first time, the effect of tested neonicotinoid insecticides on the change of metabolic profile of colony cells during aging was demonstrated. Our data suggest that widely used pesticides, including insecticides, may increase cellular diversity in the Candida species population-known as clonal heterogeneity-and thus play an important role in acquiring resistance to antifungal agents.

The changes in cattle acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) activities after exposure to tebuconazole-based fungicides (Orius and Prosaro^®) in vitro were determined spectrophotometrically according to the Ellman method. The fungicides induced the decrease in AChE and BChE levels in a dose-dependent manner. Statistically significant inhibition of erythrocyte AChE levels was observed in the concentration range from 150 to 300 μg ml⁻¹ (p < 0.001) for Orius and from 100 to 300 μg ml⁻¹ for Prosaro^® (p < 0.01 and p < 0.001, respectively). Levels of BChE activity were more reduced for the fungicide Orius (40–50%) than for Prosaro^®. Statistical significance in the inhibition of BChE activity was found after exposure of cattle plasma to both fungicides at concentrations starting from 150 μg ml⁻¹ (p < 0.001). Our results indicate that tebuconazole-based fungicides are able to reduce cattle AChE and BChE activities.