An evaluation of the Escherichia coli WP2 and WP2 uvrA reverse mutation assay

The methodology and status of the Escherichia coli WP2 reverse mutation system as it applies to chemical screening were reviewed using the available published literature. 163 documents were reviewed by the Working Group. These included abstracts, research articles, review articles and publicly available contract and grant final reports. From this group, 115 documents were rejected for critical evaluation by the Working Group. 48 documents were reviewed and the test results summarized. The general conclusion of the Working Group was the the E. coli WP2 reverse mutation system is a valuable tool for mutagenesis research, but that there is no evidence from a review of the literature that this assay will contribute significantly to the results obtainable from careful application of the Ames Salmonella assay. Another review of the role of this system in general screening may be warranted after more research and development with the plasmid-containing WP2 derivatives.