Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

LYSOSOMAL LABILISATION IN VILLORITA AS A CYTOLOGICAL RESPONSE TO METAL STRESS

Bindya Bhargavan P.V. Haridevi C.K., and Salih K. Y.M.

Abstract

Estuarine and marine environment receives a wide variety of contaminants. Among various techniques to assess affect of pollution the widely accepted ones are those, which are cheap, easy and quick nondestructive methods. Neutral Red Retention Assay is one such toxicity test, which can be considered as a biomarker of heavy metal stress in biomonitors. In the present work mercuric effect on lysosomal membrane of Villorita cyprinoides using three dififerent concentrations was studied. Neutral Red Assay, as a measure of cell damage makes use of the fact that only hysosomes in healthy cells take up and retain the dye.