The micronucleus test in piscine erythrocytes.

Cytogenetic assays on aquatic organisms are essential, as humans are exposed throughout their lifetime to several xenobiotics present in both the water and aquatic food. The micronucleus test showed to be a useful in vivo assay for genotoxicity testing. However, many aspects of its protocol need to be refined, knowledge of confounding factors should be improved and inter-species differences need further investigation. This review summarizes the protocols developed until now, provides knowledge from hematology and physiology that might be useful to researchers dealing with the micronucleus test and indicates the drawbacks of this assay.