Effects of Low-Dose Irradiation from 131 I on the Induction of Somatic Mutations in Tradescantia

Low doses of 131 I (5 to 100 nCi) were applied to the inflorescence of Tradescantia clone 02 and the mutational events were observed in the stamen hair cells. A linear dose-effect relationship was obtained over this very low dose range. However, environmental condition may cause fluctuation in mutation frequency; therefore, it is suggested that great caution has to be paid to elucidate the validity of this monitoring system.