The effect of dose-rate on the yield of translocations and dominant lethals following spermatogonial irradiation of mice

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Abstract
1. F1 (CSH♀ × 101♂) male mice were given 1200 r. 60Co Υ-irradiation over welve weeks and mated twelve weeks after the end of irradiation. The incidences of foetal and neonatal lethality and of semi-sterility in their offspring were compared with those in controls.2. Embryonic survival to 15 days in the irradiated series was 98·2% that of controls, while the incidence of semi-sterility was 0·9% compared with nil in the controls. Neither of these differences is significant.3. Comparison of these results with the significant rates of induction of dominant lethals and translocations in a previous experiment, in which a dose of 1200 r. acute x-irradiation was given to males of the same hybrid stock, show the existence of a dose-rate effect. Its magnitude cannot at present be accurately estimated.4. The reasons for this effect are discussed. It is concluded that the main cause of the lowered translocation yield is that restitution of breaks will be favoured at low dose-rates, with less opportunity for the formation of interchanges. This could partly account for the lowered rate of induction of dominant lethals as well, but a full explanation is not yet possible.

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