Ames test
Effective to detect mutagenic compounds, the AMES test is carried out on bacterial strains of Salmonella Typhimurium and E. coli used for more than 40 years.
How does it work ?
Point mutations were made in the histidine (S. typhimurium) or the tryptophan (E. coli) operon, rendering the bacteria incapable of producing the corresponding amino acid. These mutations result in his- or trp- organisms that cannot grow unless histidine or tryptophan is supplied.
Ames MPF test
A test sample’s mutagenic potential is assessed by exposing these amino acid-requiring organisms to varying concentrations of sample and selecting for the reversion event. Media lacking histidine or tryptophan are used for this selection which allow only those cells that have undergone the reversion to histidine / tryptophan prototrophy to survive and grow.
mutagenic event causing base substitutions or frameshift mutations within the gene may cause a reversion to amino acid prototrophy. These reverted bacteria will then grow in histidine- or tryptophan-deficient media, respectively, whereas non reverted bacteria will not be able to grow.
We can offer you to work from 2, 3 or 5 different bacterial strains.
