Originally published as Genetics Published Articles Ahead of Print on September 15, 2004.

Genetics, Vol. 169, 881-889, February 2005, Copyright © 2005
doi:10.1534/genetics.104.033654

Transmissible and Nontransmissible Mutations Induced by Irradiating Arabidopsis thaliana Pollen With -Rays and Carbon Ions

Ken Naito^*,, Makoto Kusaba^*,1, Naoya Shikazono, Toshiya Takano^*, Atsushi Tanaka, Takatoshi Tanisaka and Minoru Nishimura^*

^* Institute of Radiation Breeding, National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, Ohmiya-machi, Naka-gun, Ibaraki 319-2293, Japan
Division of Agronomy and Horticulture Science, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Sakyouku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
Department of Ion Beam Applied Biology, Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, Watanuki-machi 1233, Takasaki, Gunma 370-1292, Japan

¹ Corresponding author: Institute of Radiation Breeding, National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, P. O. Box 3, Ohmiya-machi, Naka-gun, Ibaraki 319-2293, Japan.
E-mail: kusaba{at}affrc.go.jp

An early genetic study showed that most radiation-induced mutations are not transmitted to progeny. In recent molecular studies in plants, mainly M₂ plants or their progeny, which contain only transmissible mutations, have been analyzed, but the early results imply that these studies are insufficient as comprehensive descriptions of radiation-induced mutations. To study radiation-induced mutations caused by low-LET -rays and high-LET carbon ions at the molecular level, we used the pollen-irradiation method and the plant Arabidopsis thaliana to study various mutations, including nontransmissible mutations. This analysis revealed that most mutants induced with irradiation with -rays (150–600 Gy) or carbon ions (40–150 Gy) carried extremely large deletions of up to >6 Mbp, the majority of which were not transmitted to progeny. Mutations containing 1- or 4-bp deletions, which were transmitted normally, were also found. Comparison of the deleted regions in the mutants showing various manners of transmission suggests that the nontransmissibility of the large deletions may be due to the deletion of a particular region that contains a gene or genes required for gamete development or viability.

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