Spontaneous Mutation Frequency (SMF) Test

Creative Biolabs has been a long-term expert in the field of antibacterial and antifungal drug discovery. Based on our extensive experience and world-leading technology platforms, Creative Biolabs is always dedicated to assisting our clients with the most satisfactory spontaneous mutation frequency (SMF) test service.

Introduction of Spontaneous Mutation Frequency (SMF)

The mutation is a fundamental feature of living systems and provides important elements for natural selection. Mutations can be global alterations at the chromosomal level or point changes. Different from induced mutation, spontaneous mutation is the result that occurs naturally in the cell, that is, the mutation that occurs due to the interaction of foreign factors or mutagenic agents with DNA. The mistake in DNA replication is an important cause of spontaneous mutations. In addition, the structural alteration of nucleic acid bases is another important cause of spontaneous mutations. Since spontaneous mutations occur randomly anywhere in the genome, most spontaneous mutations are detrimental to the organism. As a result, organisms have evolved a variety of mechanisms to protect against excessive mutation rates.

For example, some bacteria are usually sensitive to antibiotics, and they cannot grow on medium containing antibiotics. However, mutations conferring antibiotic resistance can occur naturally at low frequencies in bacterial genomes. So if a large number of cells are plated on a medium containing antibiotics, even though most of the cells will be killed by the antibiotics, a small number of cells will still grow. The SMF can be determined by dividing resistance to antibiotics by the total number of viable cells in culture.

Fig.1 Antibiotic resistance emergence and selection over bacterial through population scales. (Pienaar, 2018)

Procedure for SMF Determination

1. Preparation of agar plates containing antibiotics with the concentration of 4 or 8 times the MIC value of the tested bacteria.
2. Preparation of parental bacterial cultures and determination of bacterial density.
3. Spread the parental bacterial culture on prepared agar plates and incubate for 3 days.
4. Obtain the number of recovered CFUs and calculate the SMF value.

Advantages of our SMF Test Service

• Available for various strains.
• Competitive price with the best quality.
• Fully customizable experimental design to expand beyond standard procedure.

Equipped with world-leading technology platforms and professional scientific staff, we are pleased to offer the most qualified services and products for antibacterial and antifungal drug discovery. If you are interested in our products or services, please do not hesitate to contact us for more detailed information.

Reference

1. Pienaar, E.; et al. Emergence and selection of isoniazid and rifampin resistance in tuberculosis granulomas. PLoS One. 2018, 13(5): e0196322

For Research Use Only.