Flavone mutagenicity in Salmonella typhimurium: dependence on the pKM101 plasmid and excision-repair deficiency.

Flavones mutagenic in Salmonella typhimurium fall into two distinct classes, characterized by different structural and metabolic activation requirements and by different strain responses. The mutagenic potencies of a prototype agent of each class, quercetin (3,3',4',5,7-hydroxyflavone) and norwogonin (5,7,8-hydroxyflavone), were determined in tester strains differing in excision-repair capability and in the presence or absence of plasmid pKM101. Two series of strains were used, one with the hisD3052 frameshift mutation and one with the hisG46 missense mutation. With both agents and for both series of strains, the mutagenic response was markedly dependent on the absence of excision repair and the presence of the pKM101 plasmid.