Cyclopenta(cd)pyrene, a constituent of environmental emissions, has been found to mutate and transform mammalian cells in culture. Cyclopenta(cd)pyrene 3,4-oxide, a presumed metabolite, was found to be a direct-acting mutagen and to transform mammalian cells. These results suggest that cyclopenta(cd)pyrene 3,4-oxide may be an ultimate mutagenic form of the parent hydrocarbon.

This paper is aimed principally at bioinformaticians and biologists as an introduction to recent advances in mouse mutagenesis, concentrating on genome-wide screens utilising the powerful mutagen N-ethyl-N-nitroso-urea (ENU). It contains a brief background to the underlying genetics as well as details of the practical aspects of organisation and data capture for such projects.

Although active tobacco smoking has been considered a major risk factor for head and neck cancer, few studies have evaluated environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and its interaction with mutagen sensitivity on the risk of head and neck cancer. We investigated the relationship between ETS and head and neck cancer in a case-control study of 173 previously untreated cases with pathologically confirme...

A problem basic to molecular genetics involves the explanation of a mutation brought about by a base alteration in only one of the two DNA strands. Considering a semiconservative model of DNA replication ( MESELSON and STAHL 1958) one would expect stable alterations to cause a mutation in one half the progeny of a cell carrying only one set of genetic information. However, frequently pure mutan...

Chemical mutagenesis is an efficient tool used in mutation-breeding programs to improve the vital characters of the floricultural crops. This study aimed to estimate the effects of different concentrations of two chemical mutagens; sodium azide (SA) and diethyl sulfate (DES). The vegetative growth and flowering characteristics in two generations (M1 and M2) of calendula plants were investigated...

In the course of selection of bacteria with derepressed levels of histidine biosynthetic enzymes, it was found that when mutagen-treated cells were spread on a selective medium without allowing intervening growth to occur, the frequency of operator mutants obtained was dramatically increased. This may be useful as a general enrichment for operator or other dominant mutations.