Heritable translocation test on random-bred mice after prolonged triethylenemelamine treatment

Abstract

Heritable translocation and dominant lethal tests were conducted with random-bred Swiss albino male mice. The animals were provided drinking water containing triethylenemelamine (TEM) for 4 weeks, and were then mated for 3 successive weeks for analysis of dominant lethality and production of F 1 progeny. Potential translocation carriers among F 1 males were selected after two breedings and confirmed by cytogenetic analysis. Translocation heterozygotes were obtained in offspring of the TEM-treated groups, but not in the control groups. In F 1 males produced from the first week of mating, the frequencies of translocations were 0, 1.7, 6.2 and 10.0% for the control group and groupsreceiving TEM at 0.0125, 0.025 and 0.050 mg/kg/day, respectively, and in those produced from the third week of mating, the values were 0 and 2.1%, respectively, for the control group and the group receiving TEM at 0.050 mg/kg/day. F 1 males from the second week of mating were not studied for the induction of heritable translocations. TEM-induced dominant lethality and heritable translocations were most prominent in the first week of mating after 4 weeks of treatment. In addition, heritable translocations appeared to be a more sensitive endpoint than dominant lethal mutations for the measurement of mutagenic effects of TEM.