Skip to main content
NCBI 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
. 1973 Mar;70(3):782–786. doi: 10.1073/pnas.70.3.782

An Improved Bacterial Test System for the Detection and Classification of Mutagens and Carcinogens

Bruce N Ames 1, Frank D Lee 1, William E Durston 1
PMCID: PMC433358  PMID: 4577135

Abstract

We previously described a set of four strains of Salmonella typhimurium designed for detecting the various types of mutagens, and showed their utility in detecting a wide variety of carcinogens as mutagens. The lipopolysaccharide that normally coats these bacteria is a barrier to penetration of mutagens to the cell membrane. The set of tester strains has been improved by adding a mutation (rfa: deep rough) that results in a deficient lipopolysaccharide. The techniques for using these strains for detecting mutagens are presented and the tests are shown to be extremely sensitive and convenient. The specificity of frameshift mutagenesis is clarified. As adjuncts to the test with the four strains, we describe a test that compares mutagenic killing in deep rough strains with and without DNA excision repair, and a test using forward mutagenesis in a deep rough strain lacking excision repair.

Keywords: Salmonella typhimurium, lipopolysaccharide, frameshift mutations

Full text

PDF
782

Selected References

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

  1. 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]
  2. 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]
  3. 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]
  4. 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]
  5. 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]
  6. Hartman P. E., Levine K., Hartman Z., Berger H. Hycanthone: a frameshift mutagen. Science. 1971 Jun 4;172(3987):1058–1060. doi: 10.1126/science.172.3987.1058. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Kada T., Tutikawa K., Sadaie Y. In vitro and host-mediated "rec-assay" procedures for screening chemical mutagens; and phloxine, a mutagenic red dye detected. Mutat Res. 1972 Oct;16(2):165–174. doi: 10.1016/0027-5107(72)90177-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Oeschger N. S., Hartman P. E. ICR-induced frameshift mutations in the histidine operon of Salmonella. J Bacteriol. 1970 Feb;101(2):490–504. doi: 10.1128/jb.101.2.490-504.1970. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Riddle D. L., Roth J. R. Frameshift suppressors. 3. Effects of suppressor mutations on transfer RNA. J Mol Biol. 1972 May 28;66(3):495–506. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(72)90429-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Slater E. E., Anderson M. D., Rosenkranz H. S. Rapid detection of mutagens and carcinogens. Cancer Res. 1971 Jul;31(7):970–973. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Stouthamer A. H. A genetical and biochemical study of chlorate-resistant mutants of Salmonella typhimurium. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek. 1969;35(4):505–521. doi: 10.1007/BF02219168. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. VOGEL H. J., BONNER D. M. Acetylornithinase of Escherichia coli: partial purification and some properties. J Biol Chem. 1956 Jan;218(1):97–106. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Wilkinson R. G., Gemski P., Jr, Stocker B. A. Non-smooth mutants of Salmonella typhimurium: differentiation by phage sensitivity and genetic mapping. J Gen Microbiol. 1972 May;70(3):527–554. doi: 10.1099/00221287-70-3-527. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Yourno J. Externally suppressible +1 "glycine" frameshift: possible quadruplet isomers for glycine and proline. Nat New Biol. 1972 Oct 18;239(94):219–221. doi: 10.1038/newbio239219a0. [DOI] [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