Mutagenic Effect of 3-Chloroethylamines and Related Compounds

The use of mutagenis to produce strains with desired characteristics including increased biosynthetic capacity is an established part of industrial research (Stauffer and Backus, 1954; Dulaney, 1955; Backus and Stauffer, 1955). Publications indicate that much of this work has been done with ionizing and nonionizing radiation. The mutagenic effect of mustard gas for Drosophila spp. (Auerbach et al., 1947) and the usefulness of microorganisms for scoring mutations has led to increased study of chemicals as mutagens (Lederberg, 1948; Auerbach, 1951; Boyland, 1954; Iyer and Szybalski, 1958; Mashima and Ikeda, 1958). Among the most mutagenic chemical compounds are f-chloroethylamines and sulfides, that is, nitrogen and sulfur mustards. In our search for superior chemical mutagens for use in making improved strains of industrially important microorganisms, a series of nitrogen mustards was tested. These studies are reported herein.