Biopolymers and cell. 1995; 11 (5): 24 - 27

BIOLOGICAL MUTAGENES AND THEIR ROLE IN THE NATURAL MUTATION PROCESS

Yu. N. Alexandrov, M. D. Golubovsky

Two sets of lethal mutations in chromosome 2 of Drosophila melanogaster have been tested for allelism: lethals induced by viruses and exogenous DNA and those found in different natural populations or arising de novo in the progeny of wild-type flies. It was concluded that the mutagenic effect of different viruses and other sources of DNA, exogenous for the host cells, is to induce single-locus and multiple mutations, which can spread throughout natural populations. Certain population-genetical consequences of the data obtained are discussed, and in particular, the position that during virus-in¬duced mutagenesis, similar multiple chromosome lesions can occur repeatedly and in¬dependently in isolated populations of flies a result of a single mutation event.