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Effect of Oxygen on the Frequency of X-ray Induced Somatic Crossing Over in Drosophila melanogaster

Abstract

IN Vicia faba root tips, X-rays produce a greater percentage of chromosomal aberrations when the roots have been in water through which oxygen is bubbled than when they have been similarly exposed to nitrogen1. The enhancement of radiosensitivity by oxygen—the “oxygen effect” — has been found in essentially all forms of life, in many biological systems, and in such phenomena of genetic interest as chromatid breaks2, autosomal crossing over3 and sex-linked mutations4. This communication presents evidence of an oxygen effect for somatic crossing over in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster.

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STAUFFER, H. Effect of Oxygen on the Frequency of X-ray Induced Somatic Crossing Over in Drosophila melanogaster. Nature 223, 1157–1158 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1038/2231157a0

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