Gene mutations (de novo) found in electrophoretic studies of blood protein of infants with anomalous development

Twelve proteins of enzymic and nonenzymic nature in blood samples of infants that deviate from the average population in physical development (50 premature and 177 full-term infants with rough and multiple developmental defects) were studied by electrophoresis in polyacrylamide and starch gels. The control group consisted of 500 normal newborns. In infants with developmental disorders, the frequency of rare electrophoretic protein variants was found to be about one order of magnitude higher than in the control. It has been shown for at least five cases that such variants are de novo mutations. According to these data the mutation rate is approximately 2 x 10(-3) per locus per generation for the group selected and approximately 6 x 10(-5) for the total population. Despite the fact that further specification of the estimations found is required, we consider the results obtained as evidence in favor of the efficiency of the earlier substantiated monitoring model of gene mutations in the human population [Dubinin, N.P. & Altukhov, Yu. P. (1977) in Genetic Consequences of Environmental Pollution, ed. Dubinin, N.P. (Mysl, Moscow), pp. 14-45]. This approach, which infers electrophoretic screening of blood proteins in a specially selected group of newborns, makes it possible to reduce the size of samples needed for statistically reliable estimations of the alteration of mutation rate.