Dose-response relationships for mutations induced in E. coli by some model compounds. With an addendum: Reaction kinetics in water of chloroethylene oxide, chloroacetaldehyde, and chloroacetone.

Abstract

The dose-response relationships for mutation to streptomycin nondependence in E. coli Sd-4 were studied for three chemical agents (ethylene oxide, methyl methanesulfonate and ethyl methanesulfonate) with large scale experiments, and for ten agents (propylene oxide, 1, 2-butene oxide, glycidol, epichlorohydrin, chloroethylene oxide, chloroacetone, bromoacetone, chloroacetaldehyde, glycolaldehyde and glyceraldehyde) with normal scale experiments. The data for ethylene oxide could be fitted to a single straight line. The mutation curves for methyl and ethyl methanesulfonates were resolved into two components. The dose-response relationships were indicated to be linear for six out of the remaining ten agents tested. Marked contributions from the quadratic components were reflected in the curves obtained with chloroethylene oxide, chloroacetaldehyde, chloroacetone and bromoacteone.