Madubuike, Mercy Ngozi2025-06-202025-06-202023-11Madubuike, M. G. (2023). Cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of crude oil polluted agricultural soil on selected plants during rhizoremediation. (Unpublished Master's Thesis). Federal University of Technology, Owerrihttps://repository.futo.edu.ng/handle/20.500.14562/2030A Master's thesis on "cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of crude oil polluted agricultural soil. It contains tables, mathematical equations, pictures and graphs.Oil spills devastate farmlands, destroying agricultural crops that affect humans through the food chain. Assays for this study were conducted between two soil groups polluted with 100ml crude oil (A - soil polluted before planting [PB] and B - soil polluted two weeks after planting [PA]) within a period of 28 days from their pollution time. The impact of oil spill on three edible plants (Allium cepa, Telfairia occidentalis and Zea mays) were evaluated through plant growth measurement, total chlorophyll test, tissue sectioning of leaves and alkaline comet assay. Results obtained showed a decrease in plant height, leaf area and leaf number for all the polluted plants compared with their controls. However, plants grown on “soil polluted before planting” experienced delayed emergence and retarded growth but survived better than plants grown on “soil polluted two weeks after planting”. The comet frequency values obtained were statistically lower (P<0.05) in all the control samples for T. occidentalis (UC) = 8.00±3.61bc , Allium cepa (OC) = 11.67±3.06b and Zea mays (MC) = 4.67±2.08c . However, higher but non significant comet values were recorded amongst the polluted soils for T. occidentalis polluted before planting (UPB) = 46.33±2.08a , T. occidentalis polluted after planting (UPA) = 50.00±0.00a , Allium cepa polluted before planting (OPB) = 49.67±0.58a , Allium cepa polluted after planting (OPA) = 48.67±1.53a , Zea mays polluted before planting (MPB) = 49.33±1.16a and Zea mays polluted after planting (MPA) = 50.00±0.00a ). The photomicrographs revealed alterations and anomalies in leaf structures for both polluted groups as compared to their control. A notable decline in total chlorophyll contents occurred amongst the plants grown on “soil polluted two weeks after planting” when compared to plants grown on “soil polluted before planting”. Therefore, this study deduced an elevated cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of crude oil in all the polluted plants, except for mild anomalies observed in the leaves of T. occidentalis grown on “soil polluted before planting” (UPB); which also showed no physical signs of crude oil pollution based on the non-observance of leaf yellowing, deformity or defoliation.enAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 InternationalGenotoxicitycytotoxicitycometshydrocarbonsphytoremediationpollutionDepartment of BiotechnologyMaster’s Thesis