Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 13, 2026

Identifying DNA Mutations in Purified Hematopoietic Stem/Progenitor Cells
Published on: February 24, 2014
Organ variation in the mutagenicity of MeIQ in Big Blue lacI transgenic mice
T Suzuki1, M Hayashi, M Ochiai
1Division of Genetics and Mutagenesis, National Institute of Health Sciences, Tokyo, Japan. suzuki@nihs.nihs.go.jp
Abstract:
2-Amino-3,4-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (MeIQ), which is a heterocyclic amine found in food and the potent mutagen in S. typhimurium TA98, was examined for its genotoxic potential using lacI transgenic mice (Big Blue, C57BL/6N lineage). Female mice, at 7 weeks of age, were given a diet containing 0.03% MeIQ for 1, 4 and 12 weeks, and mutant frequencies (MF) were analyzed in the bone marrow, liver, forestomach, colon and heart. The MF increased in a feeding period-dependent manner. Relative to untreated mice, the MF after a 12-week-feeding of MeIQ was 38 times higher in the colon, 5.8 times higher in the bone marrow, 4.6 times higher in the liver, and 2.6 times higher in the forestomach. No increase in MF was detected in the heart, where no tumors develop.
Related Concept Videos
In-vitro Mutagenesis
Lethal Alleles
Lucien Cuénot discovered lethal alleles in 1905 while studying the inheritance of coat color in mice. The agouti gene is responsible for the color of the coat in mice. This gene codes for an agouti-signaling protein, which is responsible for melanin distribution in mammals. The wild-type allele gives rise to gray-brown coat color in mice, while the mutant allele gives rise to yellow coat color. In addition to coat color, the agouti gene is associated with the yellow...
In vitro Mutagenesis
Mutagenicity and Carcinogenicity

