Mutagenicity of furfural in plasmid DNA

Furfural is recognized as a dietary mutagen and is present in various foods and beverages. We have examined the mutagenic effect of furfural induced lesions in plasmid pBluescript SK(+/-). There was a progressive decrease in the transformation capacity of the plasmid as a function of furfural concentration with a concomitant increase in the number of mutant plasmids. Several mutant plasmids with reduced transformation capacity and a molecular size similar to the parental plasmid were isolated. A stretch of DNA of 108 basepairs within the multiple cloning region was sequenced. It was observed that the number of mutagenic events in the case of furfural damaged plasmid was not significantly greater than in spontaneously arisen mutants. These results were interpreted to indicate that furfural mediated DNA damage is efficiently repaired.