Assessment of mutagenicity of water from Lake Sevan, Armenia with application of Tradescantia (clone 02)

For many decades water resources in Armenia have been affected by anthropogenic activity, therefore, a regular bioindication of genotoxic effects of the water bodies is desirable. The genotoxicity of water samples collected from different parts of Lake Sevan were assessed by means of Trad-SHM (stamen hair mutation) assay using Tradescantia (clone 02). Here we report a significant increase in the frequency of somatic mutations and morphological changes in the Tradescantia inflorescences exposed to the water samples compared to the control. The somatic mutations (recessive mutation and white mutation events) were mostly linked to the concentration of Al, Ni, As, Co and Pb in Artanish, Tsapatakh and Karchaghbyur, Noradus, Martuni and Litchk, while morphological changes (non-surviving hairs) were related to Co level in Tsapatakh and Karchaghbyur. The results obtained show that Lake Sevan contains substances which may cause genotoxicity and teratogenicity in Tradescantia and probably also in aquatic animals. The results also show that Trad-SHM assay can be used for monitoring natural resources.