The effect of mitomycin on the fertility and the induction of meiotic chromosome rearrangements in mice and their first generation progeny.

The dose dependent effects of chronic application of Mitomycin C(MC) on the induction of chromosomal translocations in treated animals and F1 males and on their fertility have been examined. The C3H strain mice used in the present experiments were treated with MC during eight successive weeks in doses of 0.05 mg/kg and 0.1 mg/kg of body weight. 75 males were treated (25 males per dose and 25 males as controls). Immediately after the chronic treatment they were mated with normal females and were tested for their reproductive performance. The fertility of males was estimated from the number of pregnant females after one week of being together. After that all males were sacrificed and prepared for cytological analysis. No chromosomal translocations were found in diakinesis-metaphase I of meiosis. Data from the study of fertility showed that all treated males were fertile, but all females were not pregnant. The tests of all sterile, semisterile and fertile F1 males showed that F1 males could not be identified as heterozygous translocation carriers.