Ames Test

What is the Ames test? The Ames test was developed by Bruce Ames a Biochemistry Professor and is used for “determining if a chemical is a mutagen.” Changes to a DNA sequence are referred to as mutations. DNA is extremely important because it informs the cell in what needs to be done, how it needs to be done and when. Furthermore, if there are many mutations within the DNA, it could lead to complications meaning that the cell will not work correctly. Excessive cell division can be caused by multiple mutations inevitably causing a possibility for cancer. The test uses bacteria as a subject to see if a chemical is carcinogenic.  

https://www.mun.ca/biology/scarr/4241_Ames_test_reversion.html

How does the Ames test work? What the Ames test seeks to find is the correlation between the chemicals that we use and or consume in our daily products and the safety of those said products. By doing this the test uses mutant salmonella typhimurium bacteria to see if a chemical can essentially mutate the mutation of the salmonella typhimurium bacteria back to its original state. With this being said, the mutant salmonella typhimurium that is being tested cannot produce their own histidine. “Histidine is an amino acid that the bacterium needs to live.” What this indicates is that the mutant bacteria will die wherever it is being grown unless it has its essential amino acid to live, histidine. Ames found that mutagenic agents could cause changes in the aberrant gene that encodes the defective histidine enzyme, causing the bacteria to revert back to the original state. This process is called a reverse mutation,

Who uses the Ames test? The Ames test is primarily used in the pharmaceutical industry, as a means to test drugs before releasing them into the world for clinical use. Another major industry that utilizes the Ames test is the cosmetic industry. The test is used to determine the potential of mutagens in their products. Furthermore, for these industries it is required by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to have all products go through the Ames test before being put out on the market for the public to use. All mutagens are not carcinogenic. Multiple Ames test results show that although certain substances and chemicals can affect animals they may not have the same carcinogenic effects on humans. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Toxicology Program, states that “a variety of culture conditions are employed to maximize the opportunity to detect a mutagenic chemical.” 

http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/~smaloy/MicrobialGenetics/topics/rev-sup/ames.html

What is the cost of the Ames test? The Ames test is fairly inexpensive making the test easily accessible. The Ames test is vital for screening substances and chemicals in our environment for potential traces of carcinogens. The test ultimately uses and examines several strains of salmonella typhimurium which are selected based on their specific sensitivity to the mutation. Through mixing and extracting of the test article and the test organism with a soft solution is how the Ames test is performed. The solution contains histidine in order to keep the bacteria living to get the results that are desired. If the chemical goes through a reverse mutation histidine is no longer needed for the organism to grow because it is able to produce on its own.