THE PRODUCTION OF TWO CHEMICALLY DIFFERENT TYPES OF CHROMOSOMAL BREAKS BY IONIZING RADIATIONS

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Abstract
[long dash]Experiments on the seed of Vicia faba indicate that radiation-induced chromo-some breaks may have 2 chemically different natures. One seems to be an ionic break, which closes very rapidly, as would be expected if only electrical factors were necessary for its rejoining. The other is covalent, and it stays open for long periods of time and needs a source of energy for the biosynthesis of the bonds formed in its closing. Such apparently unrelated experimental results as those obtained by the use of Ca deficiency, chelating agents, metabolic inhibitors, and high-intensity radiation can be united by this concept of 2 types of chromosomal damage.