title: Increase of sensitivity and validity of the SOS/umu-test after replacement of the beta-galactosidase reporter gene with luciferase.
abstract: The SOS/umu-test with Salmonella typhimurium TA1535/pSK1002 as tester strain is a rapid and valuable bacterial assay for screening of umuC-dependent mutagenic potential of chemical compounds and chemicals relevant to environmental pollution. The initial assay was modified by replacing the beta-galactosidase reporter gene with luciferase. Thereby, the sensitivity of the umu-test was increased significantly and the susceptibility to intensively coloured solutions was reduced. The alternative enzyme assay in the modified umu-test (umu-Luc) represents an independent method which allows to confirm the colorimetric results obtained with the original SOS/umu-test system (umu-Gal) by measuring the beta-galactosidase activity. It has been proved that for several genotoxins an increased induction rate could be achieved by applying the new umu-Luc test.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Physiologische Chemie, Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schmid
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Reifferscheid
authors.forename: R K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Zahn
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bachmann
mesh_terms: D015153:Blotting, Western; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D008156:Luciferases / Q000235:genetics*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D013014:SOS Response, Genetics; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000235:genetics*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D001616:beta-Galactosidase / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D008156:Luciferases; D001616:beta-Galactosidase