Revertant

Revertants (from Latin: return revertere = reverse ) are back mutants, ie mutants in which an earlier mutation by another mutation was canceled ( at least in its effect ) again. Especially creatures whose ancestors have lost by mutation the ability to synthesize a vital substance and who but even regained by further mutation, this ability are called revertants.

This is also called back mutations or reversions. Such back mutations occur spontaneously with a certain frequency. Under certain environmental conditions (presence of mutagenic substances) but this frequency can be greatly increased. This is exploited in the Ames test, to check the mutagenicity of substances.

Swell

• Mutation