RADIATION-INDUCED MUTATION RATES IN FEMALE MICE

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Abstract
Mutation rates in female mice were measured by the specific locus method. With acute X-rays, at a dose which rapidly sterilizes females, if the average risk of equal exposure of both sexes to acute X-rays is calculated on the basis of the more reliable rate as determined in males, the hazard is not underestimated by more than a factor of 2. An experiment performed with chronic gamma rays, which allowed almost normal fertility of the females, has, to date, yielded a rate of 5 x 10-8/r/locus with a 95% confidence interval of 0.6 to 18 x 10-8. This rate is significantly below that of 28 x 10-8/r/locus found in males irradiated with a similar dose of acute X-irradiation. Though the reasons for the lower rate are unknown, the results indicate that the mutation rate in women exposed to chronic gamma radiation may be less than that estimated from the previous standard, the mutation rate obtained from acute X-irradiation of male mice.

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