The use of two-dimensional electrophoresis to detect mutations induced in mouse spermatogonia by ethylnitrosourea.

Two-dimensional electrophoresis should, in theory, be a suitable method for the measurement of induced mutation rates in the germ cells of mice. Not only can the polypeptide products of a large number of genes be resolved on a single gel but the detection of mutations which lead to proteins with altered electrophoretic properties (but not necessarily altered function) is possible. Our attempts to apply two-dimensional electrophoresis to the detection of mutation in vivo have involved three stages: (i) the rapid production of gels of high resolution and reproducibility; (ii) the identification of eight interstrain protein variants and demonstration of their simple genetic basis; and (iii) a pilot experiment using the powerful germ-cell mutagen ethylnitrosourea. It was found that although interstrain protein variants could be detected and shown to be inherited in a codominant manner, induced variants were rarely detected even on high quality gels. Only 2 variants were detected among 67 offspring of male mice treated with 150 mg/kg ethylnitrosourea. This represented a mutation rate of 0.88 X 10(-4) mutations per locus per gamete.