CHROMOSOMAL ABERRANCY IN WHITE-FOOTED MICE (PEROMYSCUS LEUCOPUS) COLLECTED ON ABANDONED COAL STRIP MINES, OKLAHOMA, USA

摘要

This study was undertaken to determine the genetic consequences to small mammals of long-term exposure to heavy metal pollution. A secondary goal was to continue the process of validation of chromosomal aberration analysis as an in situ biological monitoring tool. During the spring, summer, and fall of l992, white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) were coIlected from four metal-polluted, abandoned coal strip mines and three uncontaminated reference sites in eastern Oklahoma, USA. Chro- mosomal aberrations were scored from standard bone marrow metaphase chromosome spreads. Seasonal differences were detected for aberrant cells (cells containing one or more chromosomal lesions) per individual (P = 0.0004), but there were no differences among sites or between sexes. Males and females were tested separately for lesions per individual, and neither sex showed a significant difference among sites but both showed seasonal differences across sites. Finally, a chi-square analysis showed that the difference between total lesions and aberrant cells was not significantly different among sites (P = 0.635), indicating that lesions were distributed among cells in approximately the same way among all sites.