Burlibasa – Gavrila: Amphibians as model organisms for study environmental genotoxicity - 1 - APPLIED ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 9(1): 1-15. http://www.ecology.uni-corvinus.hu ● ISSN 1589 1623 (Print) ● ISSN 1785 0037 (Online)  2011, ALÖKI Kft., Budapest, Hungary AMPHIBIANS AS MODEL ORGANISMS FOR STUDY ENVIRONMENTAL GENOTOXICITY BURLIBAŞA, L. * – GAVRILĂ, L. University of Bucharest, Faculty of Biology, Romania (phone: +40 213181565) *Corresponding author e-mail: liliana_burlibasa@yahoo.com.au (Received 17 th August 2010; accepted 28 th January 2011) Abstract. Animals, the silent sentinels, stand watch over the world's environmental health. Everyday, animals demonstrate intricate connections between them, us and our surroundings. Amphibians are vertebrates and include approximately 4400 existing species. Amphibians are in most cases, small, diverse and sensitive to environmental variability. They can be good indicators of habitat diversity, biological variety and local stressors on the environment. They are bathed in both water and air. They live outdoors on land and water and their skin, larvae and unshelled eggs are constantly exposed and in contact with the substances in their surroundings. We searched Web of Science and references of relevant publications to evidence the application of amphibians, especially Xenopus laevis as model animal in ecotoxicology. Keywords: amphibians, genotoxicity, ecotoxicology Introduction Environmental toxicology studies of environmental toxicants on the health of all organisms and on the different compartments of the environment. Its concern involves the fact that human survival depends on the preservation of other animal and plant species and on the environmental resources such food, water and fresh air which are menaced mostly by anthropogenic chemicals that alter living organisms and ecological balance. World Health Organization statistics report that 80% of human diseases are related to environmental pollution (Pesch et al., 2004; Neubert, 2002; Zhanfen and Xiaobai, 2006). In recent years, there are increasing reports on endocrine disorder, reproductive dysfunction, sexual reversal, environmental deterioration and biodiversity alteration. In this context, ecotoxicology has become in modern times one of the focused issues (Colborn, 2004; Hoyer, 2001). Ecotoxicology is defined by integrating the ecological and toxicological effects of chemical pollutants on biosphere, including humans (Unger, 2003). Procedures, protocols and testing organisms are important components of environmental technology. The recent establishment of a procedural paradigm for ecological risk assessment (e.g. EPA., 1991) constitutes a technological advance as well as a contribution to ecotoxicology practical goals. General methods to biomonitor (use of organisms to monitor contaminants and to imply possible effects to biota or sources of toxicants to humans (Goldberg, 1986) and apply biomarkers (cellular, tissue, body fluid, physiological or biochemical changes in individuals that are used quantitatively during biomonitoring to imply presence of significant pollutants or as early warning systems for imminent effects) are also important technologies developed in the last several decades.