Pre-implantation Death of Mouse Eggs Caused by Irradiated Food

Summary

Feeding of mice (C57BL males and/or C57BR females) for two months before mating with 50 per cent of the standard complete diet (solid cakes) irradiated with 5 Mrads γ-radiation provokes a significant increase of pre-implantation embryonal deaths, but, in contrast to a preliminary experiment, no increase of post-implantation deaths (deciduomata).

Treatment of both sexes or of males appear to be most efficient.

The pre-implantation deaths have probably to be interpreted as a dominant lethal mutation associated with gross chromosomal aberrations, such as centromeric breaks repeatedly found to be induced by irradiated materials.

Other interpretations, such as enhanced ageing, cannot be ruled out, however, on the basis of the present data.