MUTATIONS OF CHINESE HAMSTER SOMATIC CELLS FROM 2-DEOXYGALACTOSE SENSITIVITY TO RESISTANCE

1 Départment de Microbiologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Faculte de Médecine, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada JIH 5N4

In Chinese hamster somatic cells, the spontaneous change of phenotype from 2-deoxygalactose sensitivity to resistance was studied using fluctuation test experiments à la Luria and Delbrück (1943) for four Chinese hamster cell strains derived from V79. The results are consistent with true mutational events. The mutation rates are in the range of 1 to 3.5 x 10-5 per cell per generation. The relationship between the 2-deoxygalactose resistance and the galactokinase markers is discussed.

Submitted on November 1, 1978
Revised on January 23, 1979