The Differential Susceptibility of Sperm and Spermatids to Ionizing Radiations

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Abstract
A hypothesis is offered to explain the differential susceptibility of sperm and spermatids to ionizing radiations. In sperm the condensed chromosomes are packed tightly together in the small sperm-heads, while the chromosomes of spermatids, are separated from each other by some space within the caryolymph. The proposed hypothesis assumes that the diffusing secondary radiochemical products of ionizations, occurring in the immediate neighborhood of the chromosomes, cause a considerable amount of chromosomal damage in addition to the effects due to ionizations occurring within the structures of the chromosomes themselves. The additional space is present around the chromosomes of spermatids as in most other types of cells, but is practically missing in the exceptional cell-type represented by sperm. On the proposed basis it seems to be possible to explain not only the lesser sensitivity of sperm to X-rays but also the peculiar reaction to oxygen and to neutrons.