Mutagenic effects of lead (II) bromide.

The mutagenicity of lead (II) bromide (a combustion product of the gasoline additives lead (IV) tetraethyl and 1,2-dibromoethane) was investigated using various strains of bacteria. Taking prodigiosin (the red pigment) production as a marker, lead (II) bromide was found to be mutagenic in S. marcescens, leading to the appearance of white mutant colonies that are unable to produce such a pigment. This compound was also found to be mutagenic in E. coli KMBL1851, resulting in the appearance of rifampicin-resistant mutants in addition to Met+ and His+ revertants. Some of the S. marcescens mutants were found to be reversible, able to resynthesize prodigiosin. Differences in the sensitivity to antibiotics as well as in the biochemical properties were detected between the mutants and their corresponding wild types. Lead (II) bromide gave positive results in the Ames test performed with strain TA 1535.