X-ray induced translocations in premeiotic germ cells of monkeys

The induction of reciprocal translocations by various X-ray exposures was studied in spermatogonial stem cells of rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) and stump-tailed macaques (Macaca arctoides) by means of spermatocyte analysis many cell generations after irradiation. The yields of translocations recovered from irradiated stump-tailed macaques were lower than those observed in rhesus monkeys and represent in fact the lowest induction rates per Gy ever recorded for experimental mammals. In the rhesus monkey a humped dose-effect relationship was found with (a) a homogeneous response with (pseudo-)linear kinetics below 1 Gy, (b) much more variability at higher doses, and (c) no induction at all at doses of 4 Gy and above. It is suggested that the post-irradiation proliferation differentiation pattern of surviving rhesus monkey spermatogonial stem cells i mainly responsible for these characteristics of the dose-response curve.