A genome scanning approach to assess the genetic effects of radiation in mice and humans

Abstract Asakawa, J., Kuick, R., Kodaira, M., Nakamura, N., Katayama, H., Pierce, D., Funamoto, S., Preston, D., Satoh, C., Neel, J. V. and Hanash, S. A Genome Scanning Approach to Assess the Genetic Effects of Radiation in Mice and Humans. Radiat. Res. 161, 380–390 (2004). We used Restriction Landmark Genome Scanning (RLGS) to assess, on a genome-wide basis, the mutation induction rate in mouse germ cells after radiation exposure. Analyses of 1,115 autosomal NotI DNA fragments per mouse for reduced spot intensity, indicative of loss of one copy, in 506 progeny derived from X-irradiated spermatogonia (190, 237 and 79 mice in 0-, 3-, and 5-Gy groups, respectively), permitted us to identify 16 mutations affecting 23 fragments in 20 mice. The 16 mutations were composed of eight small changes (1–9 bp) at microsatellite sequences, five large deletions (more than 25 kb), and three insertions of SINE B2 or LINE1 transposable elements. The maximum induction rate of deletion mutations was estimated as (0.17 ± 0.09...