Skip to main content
PMC home page
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1975 Mar;72(3):979–983. doi: 10.1073/pnas.72.3.979

Detection of carcinogens as mutagens: bacterial tester strains with R factor plasmids.

J McCann, N E Spingarn, J Kobori, B N Ames
PMCID: PMC432447  PMID: 165497

Abstract

We described previously a simple test on petri plates for detecting chemical carcinogens as mutagens, using an especially sensitive set of bacterial strains to detect mutagenic acitivty and a mammalian liver extract for carcinogen activity. We now extend the utility of the method by introducing two new bacterial strains which can detect with great sensitivity many carcinogens which we did not detect before or detected with less sensitivity. Among these carcinogens are aflatoxin B-1, sterigmatocystin, benzyl chloride, benzo[a]-pyrene, 7,12-dimethylbenzanthracene, 1'-acetoxysafrole, and the nitrofuran food additive furylfuramide (AF-2). The new strains TA100 and TA98 contain an R factor plasmid, pKM101, in our standard tester strains TA1535 and TA1538. The R factor increases mutagenesis with certain mutagens, but not others. We present evidence that the mutagens that become more effective work through an error-prone recombinational repair.

Full text

PDF
980

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Ames B. N., Durston W. E., Yamasaki E., Lee F. D. Carcinogens are mutagens: a simple test system combining liver homogenates for activation and bacteria for detection. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1973 Aug;70(8):2281–2285. doi: 10.1073/pnas.70.8.2281. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Ames B. N., Gurney E. G., Miller J. A., Bartsch H. Carcinogens as frameshift mutagens: metabolites and derivatives of 2-acetylaminofluorene and other aromatic amine carcinogens. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1972 Nov;69(11):3128–3132. doi: 10.1073/pnas.69.11.3128. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Ames B. N., Lee F. D., Durston W. E. An improved bacterial test system for the detection and classification of mutagens and carcinogens. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1973 Mar;70(3):782–786. doi: 10.1073/pnas.70.3.782. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Ames B. N., Sims P., Grover P. L. Epoxides of carcinogenic polycyclic hydrocarbons are frameshift mutagens. Science. 1972 Apr 7;176(4030):47–49. doi: 10.1126/science.176.4030.47. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Ames B. N., Whitfield H. J., Jr Frameshift mutagenesis in Salmonella. Cold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol. 1966;31:221–225. doi: 10.1101/sqb.1966.031.01.030. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Cohen S. N., Chang A. C., Boyer H. W., Helling R. B. Construction of biologically functional bacterial plasmids in vitro. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1973 Nov;70(11):3240–3244. doi: 10.1073/pnas.70.11.3240. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Commoner B., Vithayathil A. J., Henry J. I. Detection of metabolic carcinogen intermediates in urine of carcinogen-fed rats by means of bacterial mutagenesis. Nature. 1974 Jun 28;249(460):850–852. doi: 10.1038/249850a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Cooper P. K., Hanawalt P. C. Role of DNA polymerase I and the rec system in excision-repair in Escherichia coli. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1972 May;69(5):1156–1160. doi: 10.1073/pnas.69.5.1156. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Creech H. J., Preston R. K., Peck R. M., O'Connell A. P. Antitumor and mutagenic properties of a variety of heterocyclic nitrogen and sulfur mustards. J Med Chem. 1972 Jul;15(7):739–746. doi: 10.1021/jm00277a011. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Durston W. E., Ames B. N. A simple method for the detection of mutagens in urine: studies with the carcinogen 2-acetylaminofluorene. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1974 Mar;71(3):737–741. doi: 10.1073/pnas.71.3.737. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Epstein S. S. Environmental determinants of human cancer. Cancer Res. 1974 Oct;34(10):2425–2435. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Hartman P. E., Hartman Z., Stahl R. C. Classification and mapping of spontaneous and induced mutations in the histidine operon of Salmonella. Adv Genet. 1971;16:1–34. doi: 10.1016/s0065-2660(08)60352-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Howarth S. Increase in frequency of ultraviolet-induced mutation brought about by the colicine factor, col-I in Salmonella typhimurium. Mutat Res. 1966 Apr;3(2):129–134. doi: 10.1016/0027-5107(66)90026-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Isono K., Yourno J. Chemical carcinogens as frameshift mutagens: Salmonella DNA sequence sensitive to mutagenesis by polycyclic carcinogens. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1974 May;71(5):1612–1617. doi: 10.1073/pnas.71.5.1612. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Kier L. D., Yamasaki E., Ames B. N. Detection of mutagenic activity in cigarette smoke condensates. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1974 Oct;71(10):4159–4163. doi: 10.1073/pnas.71.10.4159. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Kondo S., Ichikawa H., Iwo K., Kato T. Base-change mutagenesis and prophage induction in strains of Escherichia coli with different DNA repair capacities. Genetics. 1970 Oct;66(2):187–217. doi: 10.1093/genetics/66.2.187. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. MacPhee D. G. DNA polymerase activity determined by the ultraviolet-protecting plasmid, R-Utrecht. Nature. 1974 Oct 4;251(5474):432–434. doi: 10.1038/251432a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. MacPhee D. G. Effect of rec mutations on the ultraviolet protecting and mutation-enhancing properties of the plasmid R-Utrecht in Salmonella typhimurium. Mutat Res. 1973 Sep;19(3):357–359. doi: 10.1016/0027-5107(73)90237-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. MacPhee D. G. Effects of an R factor and caffeine on ultraviolet mutability in Salmonella typhimurium. Mutat Res. 1973 Jun;18(3):367–370. doi: 10.1016/0027-5107(73)90221-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. MacPhee D. G. Salmonella typhimurium hisG46 (R-Utrecht): possible use in screening mutagens and carcinogens. Appl Microbiol. 1973 Dec;26(6):1004–1005. doi: 10.1128/am.26.6.1004-1005.1973. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. McCalla D. R., Voutsinos D. On the mutagenicity of nitrofurans. Mutat Res. 1974 Feb;26(1):3–16. doi: 10.1016/s0027-5107(74)80065-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Murayama I., Otsuji N. Mutation by mitomycins in the ultraviolet light-sensitive mutant of Escherichia coli. Mutat Res. 1973 Apr;18(1):117–119. doi: 10.1016/0027-5107(73)90027-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Whitfield H. J., Jr, Martin R. G., Ames B. N. Classification of aminotransferase (C gene) mutants in the histidine operon. J Mol Biol. 1966 Nov 14;21(2):335–355. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(66)90103-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Whitfield H. J., Levine G. Isolation and characterization of a mutant of Salmonella typhimurium deficient in a major deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase activity. J Bacteriol. 1973 Oct;116(1):54–58. doi: 10.1128/jb.116.1.54-58.1973. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Yahagi T., Nagao M., Hara K., Matsushima T., Sugimura T., Bryan G. T. Relationships between the carcinogenic and mutagenic or DNA-modifying effects of nitrofuran derivatives, including 2-(2-furyl)-3-(5-nitro-2-furyl)acrylamide, a food additive. Cancer Res. 1974 Sep;34(9):2266–2273. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America are provided here courtesy of National Academy of Sciences

RESOURCES