Genotoxic Effects of Acute Difenoconazole Exposure on Daphnia magna

Difenoconazole, a fungicide often used in agriculture, is harmful to aquatic organisms. However, its toxicity to aquatic organisms is not yet well recognized. Among the triazole fungicides, Difenoconazole (PEN) is one of the most extensively used in many countries. In this study, the genetic impacts of different Difenoconazole doses on Daphnia magna was investigated. Experiments involving the control group and treatments were executed in compliance with the standard methodology outlined by the Economic Cooperation and Development Organization (OECD) standards 202 and 212 (OECD, 2012, 2009). In the present study, Daphnia magna were exposed to a control group (0 mg/L) and three different doses of (1.00, 1.5, 2.5 mg/L) difenoconazole for a period of 10 days. At the end of the experiment, comet assay was used to determine the damage frequency (%), Arbitrary unit (%), and Genetic damage index (%) of tissues. The 2.5 mg L-1 group showed notably greater damage frequencies (45.33±1.52) on Daphnia magna (p