On the nature of sister-chromatid exchanges in 5-bromodeoxyuridine-substituted chromosomes.

Sister-chromatid exchanges (SCE) were studied in allium cepa L. meristematic cells at the second and third divisions after BrdUrd-substitution during just the first or during the second and third cycles, respectively. The observed SCE nonreciprocal/reciprocal ratios detected at the third division in both experiments, as well as comparison of the lowest SCE frequency observed per cycle and expressed per picogram of DNA with data from different species expressed accordingly, strongly suggest that most of the exchanges detected in BrdUrd-substituted chromosomes are BrdUrd-dependent events. Hypotheses suggesting some different mechanisms are discussed to explain the formation of these BrdUrd-dependent SCEs.