Evidence that inhibitor(s) are formed which may interfere with the growth of revertant colonies in the Ames Salmonella and the E. coli tryptophan reverse mutation assays when strictly anaerobic conditions are used.

Spontaneous and chemically induced revertant colonies were not observed on plates when a strictly anaerobic environment and anaerobically prepared media were used to perform the Ames histidine reversion assay with each of eight different Salmonella strains. A similar effect was observed when the E. coli tryptophan reverse mutation assay was performed under strictly anaerobic conditions. We provide evidence here that under anaerobic conditions growth inhibitor(s) are formed by the S. typhimurium and E. coli bacteria when the limited histidine and tryptophan, respectively, are depleted from the medium. The inhibitor(s) are nonspecific and inhibit the growth not only of prototrophic bacteria but also of the inhibitor-producing bacteria as measured by neutralized supernatants of growth-limiting minimal liquid cultures. Inhibitor(s) are also formed in stationary phase cultures of Salmonella and E. coli in minimal liquid medium supplemented with excess histidine and tryptophan, respectively. These results suggest that inhibitor formation under anaerobic conditions is a physiological phenomenon which interferes with at least two reverse mutation assays. Whether or not it also interferes with the reverse mutagenesis process remains to be determined.