Prodigiosin is a natural red pigment produced by Serratia marcescens that belongs to the prodiginin family. This secondary metabolite is chemically characterized as an alkaloid of chemical structure C 20H25 N3O whose molecular weight is equal to 323. In recent years, many studies on this pigment have been observed due to its various biological activities such as antibacterial, antifungal, antimalarial, algaecide and antitumor and apoptotic and genotoxic effects were observed in tumor cell lines. Based on the above, this study aimed to evaluate the genotoxic effect of prodigiosin on Drosophila melanogaster. The adult organisms were incubated for 11 days at 30 oC together with the addition of prodigiosin in different concentrations (2, 5 and 10 μM / mL) in complex culture medium. Significant genotoxic effects were observed for prodigiosin in D. melanogaster, evidenced by the damage index (DI) and damage frequency (DF) observed in all treatments. A linear increase in DI and FD was observed in relation to Camila Daniele dos Santos Lima Jeanne Cristina Lapenda Lins Cantalice Mônica Lúcia Adam13 ESQUISAS EM TEMAS DE CIÊNCIAS BIOLÓGICAS VOLUME 2 the increase in the concentration of prodigiosin. Cytotoxic effects were evidenced by the observation of delayed larval development. Prodigiosin is a strong genotoxic agent inducing direct damage to the nuclear DNA of Drosophila melanogaster and also, interfering in the cell biological cycle inducing delays in larval development. Thus, the evidence of the genotoxic effects observed in the hemocytes of D. melanogaster, demonstrated here, suggests the need for further investigation into the real effects of prodigiosin in normal cells, in order to better ensure the selective efficiency of this drug as an antitumor agent
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