Genotoxicity of the Musi River (Hyderabad, India) Investigated with the VITOTOX® Test

Vijayashree, B.; Ahuja, Y. R.; Regniers, L.; Rao, V.; Verschaeve, Luc

doi:10.14712/fb2005051050133

Fol. Biol. 2005, 51, 133-139

https://doi.org/10.14712/fb2005051050133

Genotoxicity of the Musi River (Hyderabad, India) Investigated with the VITOTOX® Test

B. Vijayashree¹, Y. R. Ahuja¹, L. Regniers², V. Rao³, Luc Verschaeve²

¹Genetics Unit, Vasavi Medical and Research Center, Hyderabad, India
²Vito, Expertise Center of Environmental Toxicology, Mol, Belgium
³National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Hyderabad Zonal Laboratory, Hyderabad, India

Received June 2005
Accepted July 2005

The bacterial VITOTOX® genotoxicity test was used to screen water samples collected from three different stations along the banks of the river Musi, in Hyderabad, India. Water was collected at three stations that differed from each other in the nature of the surrounding industrial and other activities. A number of different pollutants were also measured in water, soil and air samples. The three stations were found highly polluted and different with regard to the genotoxicity and toxicity of their samples. These results demonstrate the need for further biological studies in this area to generate valuable data on genomic instability, risk assessment of cancer, and to provide avenues for risk management.