This paper presents the results of a study on the influence of lead, copper, manganese and cadmium on DNA integrity in plant cells. Plants, as biological indicators, can measure the potential effects of pollutants when they are used to measure effects of heavy metals. The genotoxicity of heavy metals in kidney-bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) seedlings was subjected to RAPD (random amplified polymorphic DNA) analysis. An RAPD 'fingerprinting' technique was used to detect DNA damage in the kidney-bean seedlings treated with two selected heavy metals at concentrations of 150 and 350 mg x l(-1). Polymorphisms became evident as the presence and/or absence of DNA fragments in treated samples compared with the untreated one. At 350 mg x l(-1), a high number of both missing bands and new amplified fragment were observed. Results suggested that a qualitative measure reflecting changes in RAPD profiles were significantly affected at higher concentrations (350 mg x l(-1)) of the tested heavy metals. A total of 467 RAPD fragments in RAPD profiles were detected by using six random primers (decamers) and 224 of these fragments showed polymorphism. There was a distinct distance between the band patterns of treated plants and the control samples when the cluster method was applied. In addition, the result derived from numerical analysis revealed a considerable distance between the band pattern of the plant samples treated with 350 mg x l(-1) heavy metals and the control sample. Finally, a comparison between untreated and treated genomes shows that RAPD analysis can be used to evaluate how the environmental pollutants modify the structure of DNA in living organisms.

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Rickettsiosis and theileriosis can cause mortalities in camel populations. This study was conducted to achieve 2 objectives: (1) to detect the presence of SFG Rickettsia sp. and Theileria sp. in Hyalomma dromedarii Koch, 1844 (Acari: Ixodidae) ticks and (2) to determine their prevalence in the tick population on the sampled camel farms in Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Camel ticks (H. dromedarii) were collected from a total of 625 one-humped camels (Camelus dromedarius) in 22 sampling locations in Al-Ain, UAE. Tick samples were analyzed by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). An SFG Rickettsia sp., which was 99% similar to Candidatus 'Rickettsia andeanae' and Rickettsia endosymbionts, was detected only in 2011 and its prevalence in the sampled ticks was 1.12%, while Theileria annulata was detected in both years with a prevalence of 2.3% and 1.60%, respectively. Additionally, T. annulata was present in all of the sampling zones (east, west, north, and south) of the study area, whereas SFG Rickettsia sp. was limited to 2 zones only (east and south). The geographic distributions of SFG Rickettsia sp. and T. annulata showed no overlap throughout the entire study area except in one location in which both of the disease agents were present. This study is the first published record on the presence of SFG Rickettsia sp. and T. annulata in camel ticks in the UAE. In addition, the current study should serve as a foundation for more studies leading to a better understanding of the reservoir potential of camels and the risk posed by these 2 disease agents to camels and other livestock.