| Comments |
"The mouse data come from the controls for the extensive radiation experiments performed at Oak Ridge, Harwell and Neuherberg, and summarized by Russell and Russell (1996). A total of 1,485,036 progeny harbored 69 visible mutations at seven loci for a rate of 6.6 × 10^-6 per locus per generation. In addition to the complete mutations, about 4.8 × 10^-5 mosaic mutations were detected at five loci these mutations tended to produce about 50% germ-line mosaicism, so that the adjusted mosaic rate is (4.8 × 10^-5)(0.5)/5 = 4.8 × 10^-6. Thus, the total mutation rate was about 1.1 × 10^-5 per locus per generation. Assuming 10^3 b per locus, we obtain 1.1 × 10^-8 mutations per b per generation. Finally, dividing by 62, the estimated number of cell divisions prior to a sperm (Drost and Lee 1995), gives µb = 1.8 × 10^-10 mutations per b per cell division. Taking G = 2.7 × 10^9 b (Laird 1971) and Ge as the amount of DNA required for 8 × 10^4 genes (Bird 1995) of length 10^3 bp generates the additional values listed in Table 5." |