What are the advantages of the Ames test for mutation detection?

The Ames test has several key advantages:

• It is an easy and inexpensive bacterial assay for determining the mutagenicity of any chemical.
• Results are robust, and the Ames test can detect suitable mutants in large populations of bacteria with high sensitivity
• It does not require any special equipment or instrumentation
• It can be used to screen substances for possible carcinogenicity
• Used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries to screen the mutagenic potential of drug compounds and cosmetics, respectively