[Effect of age on the sensitivity of mouse spermatogonia to mutagenic action]

Male BALB/c mice were whole body exposed to 0, 100, 200 or 300 R of X-rays or were given an i.p. injection of 5 mg/kg of thio-TEPA at 3 months or at 12 months of age. One hundred days after treatment the testes were examined for the presence of reciprocal translocations induced in spermatogonia and detectable in the dividing spermatocytes. Our results show that ages does not influence the yield of scorable chromosome rearrangements.