The potential for new methods to assess human reproductive genotoxicity

The immediate prospects are not good for practical methods for measuring the human heritable mutation rate. The methods discussed here range from speculative to impractical, and at best are sensitive enough only for large numbers of subjects. Given the rapid development of DNA methods and the current status of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, there is some hope that the intermediate prospects may be better. In contrast, the prospects for useful cellular-based male germinal methods seem more promising and immediate. Effective specific locus methods for sperm are already conceivable and may be practical in a few years. Obviously such methods will not predict heritable effects definitively, but they will provide direct information on reproductive genotoxicity and should contribute significantly to many current medical and environmental situations where genetic damage is suspected. 22 refs