Studies on the Effects of Radiation on Living Cells in Tissue Culture: I. Radiosensitivity of Various Imaginal Discs and Organs in Larvae of Drosophila melanogaster

Abstract

Inhibition of pupation and of emergence of the adult has often been observed in irradiated larvae of Drosophila melanogaster. Death of irradiated larvae has been observed only at the very high dosage of more than 10,000 r. Hussey et al. (1) have investigated the relation between the delay of pupation and the dose administered. Villee (2) has suggested that the delay of pupation could be attributed to a specific effect of radiation on the ring gland or to a general effect on whole tissues. The delay of pupation in irradiated larvae of Drosophila has been investigated in further detail by Bourgin et al. (3). These workers irradiated the anterior parts of larvae and examined thd ring glands and other tissues histologically. They concluded that the delay of pupation seemed to be caused by radiation damage in some target organ in the anterior part of the larvae, probably the ring gland. The failure of ecdysis caused by irradiation is very interesting from the point of view of embryological genetics as well as radiation biology. In the present study, the effects of radiation on larvae were investigated by using the tissue culture technique with irradiated imaginal discs and organs under various conditions. The radiation responses of various imaginal discs and organs were also analyzed.