This measures how mutagenic a compound is, using bacteria, commonly Salmonellatyphirium.
Describe the advantages of the AMES test
Quick and inexpensive
Simple to perform
Reliable as it uses well-established model organisms
Describe the limitations of the AMES test
Limited predictive power- cannot predict toxicity or specific types of mutations that may occur in humans
May not detect all mutagens- only detects mutagens that result in frameshift mutations and some mutagens may not causes mutations in bacteria but will in higher organisms. Furthermore, anything that kills bacteria is not assessed for mutagenicity.
May result in false positives- causes mutations in bacteria but not in higher organisms
What is a mutational signature?
This is a certain pattern of mutations that occur together.
What does the mutational signature tell us about a cancer?
Cancers with high mutational rates tend to be the most difficult to treat, as there is higher heterogeneity and most mutated cancers tend to be in tissues that are the most exposed to the external environment, such as melanoma and lung carcinoma.
