[Choice of mouse lines for the testing of chemical mutagens]

The effect of five chemical mutagens--cyclophosphamide, ethyleneimine, ethylmetanesulfonate, cytozar and captan in bone marrow cells of mouse strains TPS, WR, 101/HY, C57BL/6JY, CBA/LacY was studied. The effect was estimated by a frequency of cells with chromosome damages on preparations made 24 hours after the treatment of mice. The strains differentiate by sensitivity to mutagens and reveal specificity which can not be predicted before the experiment. The data obtained demonstrate that testing mutagenicity of chemical compounds gives more reliable results when using a set of mouse strains.