DETERMINING WATER GENOTOXICITY AT SOME SITES ON HUNTING GROUNDS IN VOJVODINA

Abstract

Various biotic and abiotic factors are present in ecosystem and they influence the processes of living organisms. Some agents that come into natural waterways are genotoxic. They affect genome and during mitosis and meiosis, and cause numerical and structural changes in karyotype. A research on the degree of genotoxicity on water was carried out on some hunting grounds in Vojvodina. Three sites were selected in Srem, Banat and Backa and water was sampled at different levels of the above mentioned habitats. A cumulative sample was made for each site. Cytological and cytogenetic changes in mitosis were analyzed on the lymphocyte mammalian samples applying Allium cepa genotoxic test. The obtained results point out that the toxicity of water is of different degree and depends on the level of environmental pollution. The hunting ground in Srem is located in the forest where water resources are not polluted, what affected the results showing favorable cytogenetic findings. Genotoxicity of water was detected in Backa where the channel, available to the game, is surrounded by contaminated ground. The changes in cell division were detected, as well as numerical and structural changes in the genome. Banat hunting ground is located in the fields. No contamination was observed. Changes in cytological level that were detected by cytogenetic analysis were statistically not significant. Further and expanded research is needed, as the applied scope of this work proved to be insufficient. However, it indicates the presence of water genotoxicity on hunting grounds in Vojvodina.