Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 30, 2026

Experimental Protocol for Detecting Cyanobacteria in Liquid and Solid Samples with an Antibody Microarray Chip
Published on: February 7, 2017
Detection of mutagenic pollution of natural environment using microbiological assays
1Department of Molecular Biology, University of Gdańsk, Kładki, Gdańsk, Poland. wegrzyn@biotech.univ.gda.pl
Abstract:
One of the most important and serious ecological problems is mutagenic pollution of the natural environment. Therefore, detection of mutagenic compounds in samples taken from natural habitats is of special interest. Microbiological mutagenicity tests seem to be very useful tools for such detection. In this review article, a general view on the tests employing genetically modified bacterial strains designed for detection of low concentrations of mutagenic compounds is presented. Moreover, a comparison of advantages and disadvantages of selected assays, developed early on and more recently, and features of these assays are discussed. It appears that none of the currently available mutagenicity tests is perfect or optimal for all purposes. Thus, a choice for the particular assay must depend on the nature of studies and specific tasks of the experiments to be performed.
Related Concept Videos
Microbial Biosensors
Methods to Assess Microbial Populations
Mutagenicity and Carcinogenicity
Methods to Assess Microbial Communities
Rapid Identification of Pathogens
Microbial Growth Measurement: Indirect Methods

