Mary Alexander studied the effects of radiation on mutation rates in the sperm o

Question

Mary Alexander studied the effects of radiation on mutation rates in the sperm of Drosophila melanogaster . She irradiated Drosophila larvae with either 3000 roentgens (r) or 3975 r, collected the adult males that developed from irradiated larvae, mated them with unirradiated females, and then counted the number of mutant F1 flies produced by each male. All mutant flies that appeared wer e used in subsequent crosses to determine if their mutant phenotypes were genetic. She obtained the following results (M. L. Alexander. 1954. Genetics 39:409

Explanation / Answer

A) mutation rate= mutant offspring/total offspringsX 100=71/49512X100=0.143% (irradiated with 3000r)

similarly, for (irradiated with 3975r)=0.139%

and for control there is no mutation thus, rate is 0%

b)the intensity of radiation i.e. roentgen power doesnt have effect of mutation but the fact of exposure to radiation itself affects the male causinf mutant offspring birth.

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