Genetoxicity of water samples from the scenic Lijang river in the Guilin area, China, evaluated by Tradescantia bioassays.
The Lijang river which passes through the Guilin mountains, and Guilin city is a world renowned scenic spot on the southwest border of China. The river and its tributaries receive water from the mountain tops and springs underground. The river water was clean two decades ago before the development of industrial establishments and extra heavy tourism. Deforestation over the mountain tops on the upper stream and its tributaries in the last decades has created serious erosion and increased sedimentation in the river. In the present study, the Tradescantia micronucleus (Trad-MCN) and Tradescantia stamen hair mutation (Trad-SHM) assays were used to evaluate the genetoxicity of water samples collected from 60 different sites along the river. Results indicate that most of the water samples from the tributaries were highly mutagenic, and that pollutants had accumulated in the main river in the Guilin city area from the industrial effluent and city sewage. Both the Trad-MCN and Trad-SHM assays were highly effective for the detection of mutagens in the water samples.
Jiang
Y G
YG
Guilin Environmental Protection Agency, Guilin, China.
Yu
Z D
ZD
Liu
G Z
GZ
Chen
R Z
RZ
Peng
G Y
GY
D001681:Biological Assay / Q000379:methods; D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D005843:Geography; D006801:Humans; D007221:Industry; D015162:Micronucleus Tests; D009153:Mutagens / Q000633:toxicity*; D010944:Plants / Q000187:drug effects*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
D009153:Mutagens; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical