Inhibitor of poly(ADP-ribose)transferase potentiates the recombinogenic but not the mutagenic action of alkylating agents in somatic cells in vivo in Drosophila melanogaster.

The effect on somatic mutations and recombination by 3-aminobenzamide (3-ABA), an inhibitor of poly(ADP-ribose) transferase, was studied in the somatic wing spot test in Drosophila melanogaster, 3-ABA did not exert any effect by itself, but caused a strong increase of wing spots in combination with methyl methanesulphonate (MMS) and ethylnitrosourea (ENU). MMS and ENU differ in their mutagenic effects, ENU causing a much higher frequency of point mutations than MMS. The enhancement by 3-ABA of chemically induced wing spots was totally eliminated by the introduction of a heterozygous inversion. It can be concluded that 3-ABA interacted with the chemical mutagens for the induction of somatic recombination, but had no effect on point mutations or intragenic events.