A RAPID SOMATIC GENOTOXICITY ASSAY IN DROSOPHILA-MELANOGASTER USING MULTIPLE MUTANT MUTAGEN-SENSITIVE (MUS) STRAINS

Mutagen-sensitive (mus) mutations in Drosophila melanogaster render developing flies hypersensitive to the lethal effects of DNA-damaging agents. In principle, multiply mutant mus strains might then serve as sensitive in vivo indicators of a wide range of mutagens and genotoxic carcinogens. As a first step to evaluate that potential we characterized interactions between mus mutations in eight double mutants containing combinations of the second chromosomal mutations mus201D1, mus205b1, mus208B1, mus210B1 and mus211B1. We found that (i) all double mutants are fully viable in the absence of mutagen exposure, (ii) mus205B1 is epistatic to any other mus mutation with respect to methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) sensitivity, and (iii) in double mutants carrying any combination of mus201D1 mus210B1 or mus211B1, MMS sensitivity is increased in a synergistic manner. Based on those results, and on mutagen cross-sensitivity data of single mutants generated in previous studies, we constructed two triple mutant mus strains for use as testers in a simple genotoxicity assay. That assay measures the survival of DNA repair-deficient mus homozygotes relative to their repair-proficient heterozygous siblings. Those two classes of fly are easily distinguished from one another by their phenotypic markers. In addition, the heterozygotes serve as a relatively mutagen-insensitive internal control in all test vials. One tester strain (mus208B1 mus210B1 mus211B2) identified 11 of 12 chemical carcinogens as genotoxic (benzo[a]pyrene, cyclophosphamide, 1,2,3,4-diepoxybutane, diethylnitrosamine, dimethylnitrosamine, ethyl methanesulfonate, formaldehyde, hexamethylphosphoramide, methyl methanesulfonate, methylnitrosourea and N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine). Safrole and two noncarcinogens (benzo[e]pyrene and caprolactam) tested as nongenotoxic. These preliminary results demonstrate both the feasibility and some limitations of the proposed genotoxicity assay, and emphasize the need for further test validation using a larger chemical data base.