- Journal of International Environmental Application and Science
- Vol: 10 Issue: 4
- Potential Toxicity Investigation of Copper -Doped River Water of Nën-Shkodra Lowland (Albania) on a ...
Potential Toxicity Investigation of Copper -Doped River Water of Nën-Shkodra Lowland (Albania) on a Plant Bio-test
Authors : Ditika Kopliku, Anila Dizdari Mesi
Pages : 482-489
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Publication Date : 2015-10-30
Article Type : Research
Abstract :Various natural and anthropogenic copper sources have progressively increased its environmental concentration, getting a hazardous threat to plant, animal and human health due to bio-accumulation tendency and toxicity. In the present investigation the Allium cepa L. test was used to assess the toxicological tendency of some riverside water samples taken in Nën-Shkodra lowland (Albania) and to evaluate the toxic potency of copper, experimentally added in analyzed natural waters. Roots of onion bulbs were exposed for 48 h to three doses, representing respective ¼EC 50 , ½ EC 50 and EC 50 of CuSO 4 -loaded samples. M acro and microscopic endpoints of onion roots grown in unloaded and copper-loaded samples, such as: morphological aberrations, mitotic and phase indexes, interphase nuclear volume and DNA content, chromosomal aberration frequency and types were evaluated and compared. There was a distinct difference of toxicity rate between two groups of natural samples. The results showed obvious metal concentration-dependence of all parameters, revealing that excess copper can cause strong phyto-, cyto- and genotoxic effects on onion roots. Chromosome stickiness, bridges and fragments, c-mitosis and disintegrated nuclei were mostly detected. This approach resulted to be successfully applicable for biological monitoring of water pollution, especially in developing countries as Albania.Keywords : Allium cepa test, copper, phytotoxicity, genotoxicity, nuclear DNA content