Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the water qualities and genotoxicity of Maheshara Lake situated near Gorakhpur, India. The lake receives many types of pollutants from two industries, agricultural run-off and domestic sewages. A total of five sampling stations were established for measurement of water pollution and the measurement of cytogenetic alterations in vivo is considered an initial step in the risk assessment procedures for genotoxic agent. A study was conducted to assess the cytogenetic changes in an airbreathing fish, Channa punctatus inhabiting the polluted water of Maheshara Lake. In the present study, significantly (p<0.05) higher micronuclei formation was observed in these groups of fishes which receive lake water thus indicating induced mutation in fishes living in Maheshara Lake water. It might be the presence of genotoxic chemicals in water, which is responsible for the DNA damages in fishes.

Key words: Maheshara Lake, genotoxic, micronuclei, Channa punctatus.