Dence for a gene in rats affecting lymphocyte responsiveness to PHA.

A gene controlling high responsiveness of lymphocytes to in vitro stimulation by PHA was transferred from the Lewis strain of rats to the BN background by ten generations of backcrossing. The high-responder phenotype was initially defined on the basis of incorporation of(3)H-thymidine, but we show that this trait also involves higher levels of mitotic activity than are observed with low responder lymphocytes. This gene is not closely linked to any histocompatibility locus which could be detected by skin grafting, and it does not appear to affect the proportion of T lymphocytes.