Assessment of the genotoxic potential of lake skadar sediments using ames test and comet assay on the fish cell line RTL-W1

Abstract

In this study we evaluated the genotoxic potential of surface sediment extracts of Lake Skadar using a combination of two in vitro tests: the Comet assay on the fibroblast-like permanent cell line RTL-W1, and the Ames test on the strain Salmonella typhimurium TA98. The obtained results show that both tests were successful in determining the genotoxic potential in the sediment organic fractions. They possess enough sensitivity to detect early warning signals and evaluate the genotoxic potential in sediments of the Lake. The genotoxic potential was recorded and compared in the sediment samples from different locations on the Lake Skadar.