Genotoxicity of cyanobacterial extracts containing microcystins from Polish water reservoirs as determined by SOS chromotest and comet assay

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Toxicity of cyanobacterial blooms, an increasing problem around the world, is connected to the increase in bloom samples containing microcystins, caused by excessive eutrophication of drinking‐ and recreational water reservoirs. Microcystins are the most common group of cyanobacterial hepatotoxins. In Poland they are produced mainly by the <jats:italic>Microcystis</jats:italic> genus. The toxicity of microcystins has been well documented, but investigation into their genotoxicity has been insufficient relative to the study of their overall toxicity. Therefore, the aim of this study was the estimation and comparison of the genotoxicity of cyanobacterial extracts with microcystins (CEMs) using the SOS chromotest (bacterial test) with <jats:italic>Escherichia coli</jats:italic> PQ37 and the comet assay with human lymphocytes. Cyanobacterial bloom samples were collected in the summer months from two Polish water reservoirs, one at Sulejów and one at Jeziorsko. The SOS chromotest, which used prokaryotic cells (without metabolic activation), and the comet assay, which used eukaryotic cells, both indicated the potential genotoxic effect of CEMs. Cyanobacterial extracts caused DNA damage in human lymphocytes <jats:italic>in vitro</jats:italic>. The maximum level of DNA damage was observed after 12 h incubation with CEMs. The bacterial test indicated a dependence of the degree of CEM genotoxicity, the composition, and the concentration of microcystins in each bloom sample examined with the time of exposure. Differences between the genotoxicity of cyanobacterial extract and the standard microcystin‐LR were noticeable. This was probably caused by the interaction of different microcystin variants. The results showed that CEMs from Polish water reservoirs were genotoxic, which was reflected by the stimulation of the SOS repair system in bacterial cells (SOS chromotest) and by the damage induced in DNA in human lymphocytes (comet assay). © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 17: 341–350, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/tox.10061</jats:p>