Abstract
CHROMOSOME aberrations in onion root tips treated with 2-14C-thymine deoxyriboside (thymidine) and with 2-14C-thymine have been studied. It has been found that radioactive thymidine gives a significantly higher frequency of aberration than equivalent amounts of radioactive thymine. Since thymidine is a precursor of deoxyribonucleic acid thymine1,2 and becomes a part of the deoxyribonucleic acid structure without diversion to any known cyto-plasmic component including ribonucleic acid, a unique system is available for provoking intranuclear damage. Thymine, on the other hand, is not incorporated into deoxyribonucleic acid2,3. Its radiation effects, therefore, have been studied because it enters the cell without becoming a part of deoxyribonucleic acid and thus provides a source of radiation outside the deoxyribonucleic acid molecule.
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McQUADE, H., FRIEDKIN, M. & ATCHISON, A. Chromosome Aberrations caused by Radioactive Thymidine. Nature 175, 1038–1039 (1955). https://doi.org/10.1038/1751038b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1751038b0
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