Genetic Effects of Pile Radiations in Rice

In attempts to utilize radiation-induced mutations for rice breeding, it is of primary interest to obtain the fundamental data of the biological effects of pile radiations. Although considerable variation of radiosensitivity was found among rice varieties, Japanese rice was comparatively more susceptible to pile radiations than foreign varieties, and tetraploids were less susceptible as compared with the diploid varieties after irradiation. From die observation of the radiation injury of F1, hybrids it was concluded that, in addition to the contribution of a gene or a gene system, the cytoplasm was related to the intervarietal difference of radiosensitivity. Sterility was more easily induced by pile radiations than X-irradiation. In the X-ray series, chlorophyll mutations on the X1-ear basis reached a maximum frequency at middle doses and decreased at higher doses. In the pile radiation series the frequency increased with increasing doses. The cause of differences of these two series seemed to be a difference of the mean size of mutated sectors between both the radiations. The increment of induced variation on quantitative characters occurred in plus and minus direction with similar frequencies after the treatment of pile radiations. However, the heritable variations did not increase in accordance with neutron flux. The amount of induced variation was more in the progenies of partially sterile X1 ear and less in those which segregated chlorophyll mutants in X2 generation. It was calculated that 1 r of X- and gamma-rays was equivalent to 1-2 x 109 thermal neutrons per cm2 for induction of chlorophyll mutations and of variation on quantitative characters. (author)