Cytogenetic and genetic studies of radiation-induced chromosome damage in mouse oocytes. II. Induced chromosome loss and dominant visible mutations.

The rates of X-ray induced loss of chromosome 19 in mouse oocytes were investigated in 2 experiments using a genetic complementation test. After 1 Gy of acute X-rays to immediately preovulatory stage oocytes, chromosome 19 loss was estimated to have occurred in 1.68% of cells. In comparison, after 4 Gy of acute X-rays to dictyate stage oocytes, the rate was estimated at 1.18%. The slightly higher rate of chromosome loss in the former cell stage after a smaller dose of radiation reflects the known increased radiosensitivity of mouse oocytes in the period shortly before ovulation. Comparison of the observations here for chromosome 19 with published data for chromosome 1 suggests that chromosome length is one of the principal factors in determining the initial rate of induced loss in mouse oocytes. Ten dominant visible mutations were recovered among 1674 offspring following irradiation of preovulatory oocytes, and 8 in 2025 offspring after treatment of dictyate cells. Nine dominant mutations were karyotyped, 5 of these were found to be associated with a visible chromosome rearrangement. The data obtained in the present study show that radiation-induced chromosome anomalies in female germ cells are not all filtered out by prenatal embryonic death but that a proportion has the potential to contribute to the genetic burden of the next generation.