ReviewMutagenesis2025
Slightly increased level of DNA migration in the comet assay: does statistical significance equal biological significance?
Review in Mutagenesis, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Multi-level evaluation of zinc sulfate toxicity and its modulation by Helichrysum arenarium in Allium cepa.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Towards a validation of the standard and enzyme-linked comet assay: a retrospective variability analysis.Archives of toxicology · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
In the comet assay, DNA damage is assessed by differences in DNA migration from gel-embedded nucleoids. Even a small difference in DNA migration between exposure groups can be statistically significant but may invite speculation about the biological significance of such slight increases in DNA migration. A small difference can be defined as a net difference of 1-2% Tail DNA, but background levels of DNA migration typically vary already more than 1-2% Tail DNA between studies. Here, we have used studies on ionizing radiation to assess the lowest detectable differences in DNA migration; variation in exposure-effect relationships; variation in central tendencies of DNA migration; unsystematic (residual) variation; and the actual number of lesions detectable with the comet assay. A total of 51 studies on ionizing radiation exposure in mammalian cells have been systematically reviewed, including results from ring-trial studies where the same batch of irradiated cells has been analysed in different laboratories. Ring-trial studies have shown that unsystematic variation is approximately 4% Tail DNA in studies on ionizing radiation. Studies on ionizing radiation in cell cultures have shown statistically significant effects when the net increase of DNA migration is 0.3-3.1% Tail DNA. Among those experiments, the ones with optimal assay conditions to detect low levels of DNA damage show statistically significant effects with doses of around 0.30 Gy, which corresponds to approximately 350 lesions per diploid cell. However, it has also been shown that the same dose of ionizing radiation can give rise to different levels of DNA migration (i.e. 0.7-7.8% Tail DNA per Gy) in different studies. In summary, the results show that even a small statistically significant difference in DNA migration has biological significance within the same experiment, but comparisons of DNA migration values between studies have limited biological implications.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.