Fish as bio indicators to determine the effects of pollution in river by using the micronucleus and alkaline single cell gel electrophoresis assay

Objectives The unpolluted freshwater is an essential ingredient for the healthy life of animals and humans. Aquatic pollution is the most important problem for living organisms. The main source of water pollution is industrial sewages. In the current study bioaccumulation and genotoxic effects of different metals e.g. Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu were determined in various tissues of Puntius sophore (P. sophore). Methods The water sample and fish P. sophore were brought from different sites of the Gomati river (coordinates: 25°30′29″N83°10′11″E), India. The heavy metals in water and fish tissues were determined by using ICP-MS. The mutagenic and genotoxic potential of the river water in P. sophore were evaluated using micronucleus and single-cell gel electrophoresis techniques. Results We have observed that the concentration of heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu) in the river water and bioaccumulation of these metals in P. sophore are equal in order. Thus it was confirmed that fish act as a sentinel indicator of metal pollution of the surrounding environment. The formation of micronuclei, as well as fragmentation of DNA, were significantly increased (p < 0.05, 0.01) in river fish as compared to the control. Conclusions Thus we might consider the fish for biomonitoring of aquatic ecosystems. Also, these findings confirmed that water of the Gomati river was contaminated with heavy metals. So, it is important to prevent the inflow of domestic and industrial sewage in the river.