Methyl bromide causes DNA methylation in rats and mice but fails to induce somatic mutations in lambda lacZ transgenic mice.

Following single or multiple oral treatments of rats or lambda lacZ transgenic mice with methyl bromide, methylated DNA adducts (N7- and/or O6-methylguanine) were found at comparable levels in various tissues, including among others the glandular stomach, the forestomach and the liver. Multiple rat treatment resulted in substantial decreases in the repair enzyme O6-alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase which were probably due in part to direct interaction of the enzyme with methyl bromide. However, no induction of mutagenesis in the lacZ transgene could be detected in any tissue 14 days after single treatments of up to 50 mg/kg or after multiple treatments of as many as 10 daily treatments of 25 mg/kg MeBr.