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A mathematical theory of chromosomal rearrangements

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Summary

A theory is given of the process of chromosomal structural rearrangement following irradiation. The theory applies to nuclei in which the union of breakage ends is at random, and assumes that the number of breaks primarily produced is proportional to the dose.

Formulae and tables are given enabling the proportion of nuclei undergoing eucentric and dyscentric types of rearrangement respectively to be calculated as a function of the dose, the cases of nuclei with 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or many chromosome, arms in the set being separately considered. The five-arm calculation is compared with published experimental results of the irradiation of the spermatozoa ofDrosophila melanogaster.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University College, London

    J. B. S. Haldane

  2. The Strangeways Laboratory, Cambridge

    D. E. Lea

Authors
  1. J. B. S. Haldane
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  2. D. E. Lea
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Additional information

(With Two Text-figures)

This paper was first drafted (by J.B.S.H.) in 1942, but was not published as he was unable to evaluate the factorq. Subsequently Lea & Catcheside (1945) working on the same problem obtained results which were, in part, identical.

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Haldane, J.B.S., Lea, D.E. A mathematical theory of chromosomal rearrangements. Journ. of Genetics 48, 1–10 (1947). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02986092

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