Why do the ames test

Examples are ethylene dibromide EDB , which was added to leaded gasoline to vaporize lead deposits in the engine and send them out the exhaust , and ziram , which is used to prevent fungus disease on crops. Some drugs, such as isoniazid used to prevent tuberculosis are mutagenic in this test.

The potency of AF-2 , a food additive once widely-used in Japan, and safrole , a flavoring agent that used to be added to root beers, caused them to be banned. Saccharin , suspected by some of being a carcinogen, does not give a positive Ames test.

Although most testing has been done on products of the chemical industry, many naturally-occurring substances like safrole have been shown to be mutagenic. The two things can be related, since mutations can lead to cancer. But not all mutations cause cancer, so not all mutagens are carcinogens. Therefore, mutations in the DNA instructions for the regulators, if unfixed, can lead to cancer.

How do you know whether bacteria are acquiring mutations? Mutations are how evolution proceeds. Mutagens increase the rate at which mutations occur and you can check for an increase in this rate by comparing the mutation rates of bacteria treated with a compound or to those not treated.

But how to easily measure these rates? Histidine His is an amino acid — one of those protein building blocks. You take 4 Petri dishes containing bacteria food with barely any histidine. Just enough to keep the bacteria alive long enough to mutate to not need it.

And you add some His- bacteria. The Ames test is used world-wide as an initial screen to determine the mutagenic potential of new chemicals and drugs. The test is also used for submission of data to regulatory agencies for registration or acceptance of many chemicals, including drugs and biocides. Above content on Principle of The Ames Test and image are references from www.

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