Abstract
WHEN Drosophila males are treated with mustard gas, the proportion of chromosome re-arrangements to sex-linked lethals in their progeny is lower than after an X-ray treatment which yields the same frequency of sex-linked lethals. This observation has been made by genetical methods1. It has been confirmed by the cytological findings of Slizynska and Slizynski2, who examined the salivary chromosomes of strains carrying sex-linked lethals induced by mustard gas and reported that these chromosomes had many fewer structural changes than would have been expected if the lethals had been induced by X-rays. Since these investigations were based on selected samples of chromosomes—namely, X-chromosomes already shown to carry a lethal—it seemed important to check them on unselected samples. Accordingly, wild-type Drosophila males were given different doses of mustard gas, and unselected female F1 larvæ were analysed for chromosomal changes in their salivary glands. The apparatus for the treatment was designed by Dr. H. Moser and has been described elsewhere3. The genetical effectiveness of each dose was measured in terms of sex-linked lethals. For comparison, exposures were carried out with doses of X-rays which approximately matched those of the mustard gas in respect of their ability to produce sex-linked lethals. The results are summarized in the accompanying table.
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References
Auerbach, C., and Robson, J. M., Proc. Roy. Soc. Edin., B, 62, 271 (1947).
Slizynska, H., and Slizynski, B. M., Proc. Roy. Soc. Edin., B, 62, 234 (1947).
Auerbach, C., and Moser, H., Experientia, 7, 341 (1951).
Auerbach, C., Proc. Roy. Soc. Edin., B, 62, 211 (1946).
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MEHTAB, M. Chromosomal Re-arrangements in the Progeny of Drosophila Males treated with Mustard Gas. Nature 171, 262 (1953). https://doi.org/10.1038/171262a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/171262a0
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