Investigation of mutagenic properties of Kura River water

The Kura River originates from the Kızılgedik region of Kars and then crosses the Ardahan plateau, proceeds to Azerbaijan through Georgia and reaches the Caspian Sea. With this feature, it is the largest cross-border water basin in the South Caucasus. There are areas along the river used for purposes such as industry, energy and irrigation. The fact that it passes through many cities from its source to the Caspian Sea increases the pollution load on the river. The Kura River, which originates from Kızılgedik Mountain and first meets the city center of Ardahan, passes through Göle district and many villages and receives discharges from these regions. This study was designed to determine the mutagenicity of water samples taken from 3 different stations in 2022 and 2023 in the section of the river within Ardahan provincial borders by using TA98 and TA100 Salmonella typhimurium strains with Ames \Salmonelle mutegenicity test system. The Kura River originates from the Kızılgedik region of Kars and then crosses the Ardahan plateau, proceeds to Azerbaijan through Georgia and reaches the Caspian Sea. With this feature, it is the largest cross-border water basin in the South Caucasus. There are areas along the river used for purposes such as industry, energy and irrigation. The fact that it passes through many cities from its source to the Caspian Sea increases the pollution load on the river. The Kura River, which originates from Kızılgedik Mountain and first meets the city center of Ardahan, passes through Göle district and many villages and receives discharges from these regions. According to the results obtained, mutagenic effect was detected on TA98 strain in the 3rd station from the water samples taken in 2022 and mutagenic effect was detected on TA100 strain in the water samples taken from the 2nd and 3rd stations in 2023.