Genotoxicological Response of the Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) Exposed to Spring Water in Tlaxcala, México

This study evaluated the genotoxic impact of anthropic activities in Huactzinco Spring, using Cyprinus carpio as a biomonitor. In situ and in vivo experimental designs were compared by means of simultaneous 2-week exposures. The water from the spring generated mean micronuclei frequency values (108.6 32 MN/1,000) and DNA fragmentation values (143.4 35 au) which were statistically higher than those for the negative control (10.9 6 MN/1,000 and 67.6 23 au). The in situ and in vivo experiments supported one another. The comet assay proved to be the most sensitive test, with an EC50 value (11.4 % 3.4 %) being less than that determined for the micronuclei test (54.8 % 3.2 %). The results of this study confirm the usefulness of C. carpio as an environmental contamination biomonitor, and suggest that Huactzinco Spring water constitutes a latent risk to human health and the environment.