A case of high rate of spontaneous mutation affecting viability in Drosophila melanogaster.

A spontaneous lethal mutation rate approximately twenty to thirty times greater than normal has been discovered in second and third chromosomes derived from an irradiated isogenic line and paired with marked inversion chromosomes. Mutations resulting in reductions of viability of varying magnitude short of complete lethality apparently also occur at a very high rate in the third but not in the second chromosome. The pattern of accumulation of lethal mutations over several generations and viability frequency distributions within generations have been studied in a number of independent experiments. High mutation rate occurs in heterozygous isogenic-derived second and third chromosomes, either together or apart, irrespective of the genetic constitution of nonhomologous chromosomes. High mutation rates were not observed using the same methods with chromosomes of an inbred line from a different source. The possible mechanisms responsible for these results are discussed.