Experimental Induction of Dominant Mutations in Mammals by Ionizing Radiations and Chemicals

Dominant mutations cause their effects in heterozygotes, and if they have complete penetrance, all heterozygotes are affected. Many mutations discussed in this review have incomplete dominance (semidominance), which means that the heterozygote is intermediate in effect between the homozygotes. Often the mutation is homozygous lethal. Some dominant mutations are X-linked; most are autosomal. This review covers dominant mutations with effects detected in late pregnancy or postnatally, and it omits results of tests for dominant lethals, chromosomal abnormalities, histocompatibility mutations, and isozyme variants detected by electrophoresis.