What is ta-153?

TA-153 is a bacterial strain that is commonly used in the Ames test, a widely accepted bacterial mutagenicity assay that is used to evaluate the potential carcinogenicity of chemicals. TA-153 is a histidine auxotrophic strain of Salmonella typhimurium that is deficient in the histidine operon, and thus, requires histidine in the culture media for growth. When subjected to mutagenic agents, such as chemical substances, TA-153 has the potential to revert to a histidine-independent phenotype which can be easily detected and counted. The results of the Ames test are important for assessing risk level of exposure to various environmental and industrial chemicals. TA-153 is considered a standard strain in the Ames test and is included in several regulatory testing protocols worldwide.