Comparative effects of ionizing radiation and two gaseous chemical mutagens on somatic mutation induction in one mutable and two non-mutable clones of tradescantia

Abstract

The X-ray dose responses of mutable clone 0106 of Tradescantia (mutable for blue to pink), and its parent clone 02 have been determined for pink and colorless mutations in stamen hair cells, and are compared to the previously determined X-ray response for pink mutations of a third unrelated clone, clone 4430 (hybrid of T. subacaulis and T. hirsutiflora). X-ray response curves are compared to the response curves of the same three clones after exposure to the gaseous phase of the alkylating agent ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) and the fumigant and gasoline additive 1,2-dibromoethane (DBE). X-irradiation induces a pink mutation rate in mutable clone 0106 that is significantly higher than that of the nearly identical pink mutation rates in clones 02 and 4430. However, the colorless mutation rates of clones 02 and 0106 are not significantly different from one another. In clones 02 and 0106, pink mutations occur more frequently than colorless mutations at lower doses, but colorless dose—response curves saturate at higher doses than do those for pink mutations. Exposure—response curves for EMS and DBE have characteristics similar to those of X-ray response curves: exponential rise followed by an area of saturation. However, it was found that the relative sensitivities of the three clones to the gaseous mutagens and to ionizing radiation do not parallel one another. Where clones 02 and 4430 are equally sensitive to X-rays, at equal mutagen concentration clone 4430 is 6–7 times more sensitive to EMS and 7–9 times more sensitive to DBE than is clone 02. Mutable clone 0106 shows intermediate sensitivities to both EMS and DBE.