Vol. 2, Issue 10, Part D (2016)

Abstract
The advancement of introduction of environmental chemicals through pesticides regarded as solemn setback, present world is confronted with the indiscriminate use of the several environmental chemicals in agriculture, livestock production, conservation of plants and animals, industrialization and biodiversity. These environmental chemicals are known to affect not only the target organisms and non target organisms endangering the homeostasis mechanism but also causing severe damage to ecosystem because of long lasting residual effects. Toxicity leads to death, irritation, skin sensitization, mutagenicity, tumors etc. The primary step in assessing the toxicity of a chemical substance is to observe the physical and behavioural responses of the poisoned animal. It is in this review, the silkworm Bombyx mori offers as one of the best and convenient laboratory tool because of its important physiological and genetical mechanism simulates the higher eukaryotic system. The methodology developed to study the genotoxic effects of environmental chemicals/ pesticides utilizing silkworm Bombyx mori includes dominant lethals, specific locus and sex linked recessive test and are accepted as standard code of behaviour to evaluate the environmental chemicals/ agents. Present review focuses on genotoxic effects of end osulfan as an orgnaochlorine pesticide keeping in scrutiny the utility of the silkworm Bombyx mori as one of the best laboratory model organism for genotoxicity.