Sarah Beth Elliott
Functional Biology- Section 29
Jazmen Meyers- IA
Abstract Due to the increasing knowledge of carcinogens and potential mutagens on the market today, such as tobacco, hormone injected animals in the agricultural world, things we drink, preservatives put into our foods for a longer shelf life, scientists are coming to understand that there could be much more to the story than what meets the eye. The experiment performed that is described in the paper below is a variation of the Standard Ames Test, which tests common used products produced for the public for carcinogens (cancer causing agents) and potential mutagens, which could lead to illness or disruption of proper cycles in the body. We created a Davis Minimal Agar plate, which contained a strain of Salmonella tymphimuium (TA1537) mixed with our tested possible potential mutagen, ammonia free hair dye. The Salmonella tymphimuium is understood to be cheap, easily attainable bacteria that show easily visible results of proof of mutagenic qualities in the tested potential mutagen. We discovered that the hair dye we tested does not contain any mutagenic qualities, as it did not produce any bacterial colonies on any of the four quadrants which contained different amounts of the potential mutagen. From this experiment, we understand that the FDA test is accurate and proves that the hair dye does not pose any threat on the public when used.
Introduction
On a daily basis we as humans in consumer America use products that we hopefully trust to be safe on ourselves and our children. According to the Asiatic J. Biotech Journal, “ It is estimated that 90% of carcinogens are mutagens” (Pounikar , and Dawande ) ,which proves the very distinctly valid point that there needs to be a clear cut, inexpensive process to test products created for the average consumer for mutagenic qualities. The Standard Ames Test was the solution for this dilemma. We as a class used a slightly different form of experimentation in which the mutant strain of Salmonella tymphimuium is incapable of synthesizing the amino acid histidine, which causes mutation on Davis Minimal Agar Plates. According to (Wessner, Maiorano, Kenyon, Pillsbury, and Campbell) at Davidson College, “These auxotrophic mutants are called histidine-dependent or his-(pronounced hiss-minus) mutants because they depend on an external source of histidine to grow. Auxotroph’s are mutant individuals that cannot make all the metabolic products that wild type (prototrophic) individuals of the same species can make.” I performed this experiment to solely discover if there were mutagenic qualities in drug store Ammonia free hair dye. The purpose of using “ammonia free” dye is because as a biology student, ammonia is a commonly known cleaner and kills all present bacteria, which would then cause no bacteria to grow in the first place, ruining the experiment. This experiment fills a hole in our knowledge by letting us know that the FDA tests every consumer marketed product for carcinogens/ mutagenic qualities, therefore protecting us from harm. Our Null Hypothesis states that there will be zero colony growth on the Davis Minimal Agar Plate. The Alternative Hypothesis states that there will be visible growth of bacterial colonies in the Davis Minimal Agar plate.
Materials and Methods In order for any part of this experiment to take place, you must have these materials explained below in order to carry out the procedures necessary for proper results. It is an absolute must for each and every person performing the lab to wear goggles and gloves. You will handle Salmonella in this lab, which is commonly known by almost everyone to cause a human to get extremely sick. The goggles are necessary so there is no splashing of liquids into the eyes, as well as when flame is used to disinfect the spreading loop on the agar plate. Next you will need 2 Davis Minimal Agar Plates where we put our potential
