Mutagenicity of fecal extracts from carnivorous and herbivorous animals

Extracts of the feces of 3 carnivorous animals (dog, river otter and sea gull) and 5 herbivorous animals (cow, horse, sheep, chicken and goose) induced chromosome aberrations (breaks and exchanges) in cultured CHO cells. The addition of CuII (10(-4)M) enhanced the clastogenic effect of fecal extracts of the examined animals with the exceptiion of 1 dog and 3 cow samples. Catalase reduced the chromosome-breaking and mitosis-inhibiting capacities of fecal extracts. These results indicate the presence of hydrogen peroxide-forming compounds. The possibility must be considered that animal and human excreta may be a major source of mutagens entering man's environment.