The detection of viable heritable translocations by chromosome banding procedures

Ethyl methanesulfonate was tested for its ability to induce viable heritable translocations in progeny of male rats given a single IP injection prior to breeding. Reproductively competent Wistar rats were used as the test animals. Males were treated with either 75 or 150 mg/kg EMS or vehicle control. Neonates were used for primary tissue culture; the fibroblasts were harvested for cytogenetic analysis of chromosomes banded by Giemsa banding procedures. Since the cells examined were somatic cells, it was necessary to karyotype only two to three per neonate to ascertain inherited translocations. A reduction in fertility was observed in males treated with EMS. A statistically significant (p less than 0.05) dose-related increase in heritable translocations was observed in the F1 generation of treated animals.