In this study, the effects of lead acetate on the third instar larvae salivary gland polytene chromosomes of D. melanogaster have been investigated.
In this research, the effects of a heavy metal compounds, lead acetate, were examined on the polytene chromosomes in D. melanogaster. The various clastogenic effects such as weak points (breaks, semibreaks, constrictions, etc.), hairpin and asynapsis were observed but not chromosomal aberrations in control groups (in the larvae untreated with lead acetate). Our findings suggest that lead acetate exerts a weak clastogenicity on salivary gland polytene chromosomes of D. melanogaster.