THE MECHANISM OF CHEMICAL MUTAGENESIS. I. KINETIC STUDIES ON THE ACTION OF TRIETHYLENE MELAMINE (TEM) AND AZASERINE

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Abstract
Triethylene melamine (TEM) and azaserine are mutagens particularly suited to the quantitative evaluation of mutagenic processes, because within wide limits of effective concentration the survival of treated cells is close to 100%. The maximum yield of over 104 mutants per 108 surviving cells produced by TEM does not depend on temperature, although the rate of appearance of the mutants is much lower at 2[degree] than at 32[degree] C. Only a short period of exposure to TEM at low temperature is required to obtain subsequent full expression of mutagenicity in the absence of the mutagen at 2[degree] C; transfer to 32[degree] C causes the effect of the mutagen to be partially lost probably as a result of secondary decay of a mutagen-cell complex. Kinetic data point to the intricate nature of the mutagenic response and indicate the participation of the following postulated steps: diffusion and semireversible binding which are rapid even at low temperatures; and, a temperature-dependent reaction which proceeds at a comparatively low rate in nutrient-free, aqueous medium.

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