Germline mutation induction at mouse and human tandem repeat DNA loci.

Abstract

The ability to predict the genetic consequences for humans of exposure to ionising radiation has certainly been one of the most important goals of human genetics in the past fifty years. However, despite numerous experimental studies, little is known about the effects of radiation exposure on germline mutation in humans. For example, data collected in Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the past 40 years on children of atomic bomb survivors using standard monitoring systems have not provided evidence of any statistically signifycant differences in mutation rate between exposed and control families (Neel at al., 1990). Similarly, a survey of survivors treated with radiotherapy showed that the occurrence of genetic diseases in their offspring was similar to that in control families (Byrne et al, 1998). For this reason, germline mutation induction in mice still remains the main source of experimental data used to evaluate the genetic risk of human exposure to ionising radiation (UNCEAR, 1993; Sankaranarayanan and Chakraborty, 2000).