Abstract
Since early 1980s Drosophila melanogaster larvae heterozygous for recessive visible markers and those with defective DNA repair capability have been intensively used as simple in vivo testers of mutagenicity of environmental agents. In pallalel with this activity, the somatic tests have recently been deployed as tools for the detection of modifiers of the mutagenicity and understanding of basic mechanisms of the effects. Here, I characterize the somatic systems in relation to the biotransforming ability of promutagens and the outcomes from the mutagenicity tests and review some aspects of the deployment.
