Nonirradiated descendants of irradiated and nonirradiated random-bred populations of mice were compared with respect to their lifetime reproductive performances, including percentages of fertile matings, mean numbers of litters, mean litter sizes, percentages of survival between birth and weaning, mean total numbers of progeny, and mean numbers of days of reproductive life. The populations were of two kinds, called "inbred" and "hybrid" to denote their origins. The accumulated genetic exposures to x-irradiation varied from 0 R in the control populations to 5400 R in one of the exposed populations. Spermatogonia were the only cell stages tested for genetic effects on reproductive fitness. The results indicated that there were no differences in reproductive fitness between the matings of nonirradiated descendants of the control and various irradiated populations.

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