Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (16)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Paashuis-Lew, Y.R.M.
Right arrow Articles by Heddle, J.A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Paashuis-Lew, Y.R.M.
Right arrow Articles by Heddle, J.A.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Mutagenesis vol. 13 no. 6 pp. 613-617, 1998
© 1998 UK Environmental Mutagen Society/Oxford University Press

research-article

Spontaneous mutation during fetal development and post-natal growth

Y.R.M. Paashuis-Lew and J.A. Heddle1

York University 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3

Somatic mutations seem to accumulate slowly with age during adult life in both mice and men. There is, however, a substantial mutant frequency at birth, suggesting that the rate of accumulation is much higher before birth. This suggests that DNA replication plays an important role in the generation of spontaneous mutations. Since most cell division and accompanying DNA replication occurs early in development, more mutations would arise during growth and development. Indeed, if the mutations are genetically neutral, the mutant frequency would rise very rapidly during early fetal growth, more slowly during later fetal growth and development and still more slowly after birth. To test this hypothesis, we have assayed the mutant frequencies from before birth to 28 days after birth, by which time most growth has occurred. We have used the F1 mice generated by crossing SWR females and MutaTMMouse males. The MutaTMMouse has a rescuable lacZ/{lambda} shuttle vector that can be assayed for an in vivo mutation in an in vitro system. Up to and including birth we assayed the entire animal for mutants; at 14 and 28 days after birth we assayed the small intestine. The data show that, as expected, many mutations arise early in development, by 12.5 days after conception, and confirms the non-linearity of mutation with age. In these mice, about one third of mutations arise before birth, about one third during growth to adulthood and the remaining during the rest of the animal's life, although this depends somewhat on the tissue.

1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +1 416 736 2100 ext. 33053; Fax: +1 416 736 5698; Email: jheddle{at}yorku.ca


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 GeneticsHome page
Y.-X. Fu and H. Huai
Estimating Mutation Rate: How to Count Mutations?
Genetics, June 1, 2003; 164(2): 797 - 805.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 MutagenesisHome page
L. E. Newell and J. A. Heddle
The effect of dietary restriction during development in utero on the frequency of spontaneous somatic mutations
Mutagenesis, July 1, 2002; 17(4): 289 - 292.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 MutagenesisHome page
J. A. Heddle
On clonal expansion and its effects on mutant frequencies, mutation spectra and statistics for somatic mutations in vivo
Mutagenesis, May 1, 1999; 14(3): 257 - 260.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.