The establishment in recent years of transgenic shuttle vector-based m
utagenicity assays has provided improved systems for analysis of mutag
enic and carcinogenic processes. Results in the mouse have stimulated
the development of an alternate species suitable for mutation analysis
and have increased our understanding of the existing models. A previo
usly described shuttle vector (lambda LIZ), based on a lacI target gen
e, was constructed in this laboratory for the study of mutagenesis in
transgenic mice and in cultured cell lines. The shuttle vector allows
for several options in its recovery from the host genome and in mutant
identification. Of the 9 transgenic lineages that were generated with
the lambda LIZ vector, one was chosen for use in a standardized mutag
enicity assay (Big Blue(R), mouse lineage A1). Characterization of thi
s lineage included copy-number determination, chromosomal localization
of transgene integration and analysis of copy-number stability. As pa
rt of the validation process, the standardized color-screening assay h
as been tested in the mouse, both for spontaneous mutant frequencies a
nd with a variety of model mutagenic compounds, and has been shown to
identify most major classes of mutations as evidenced by mutant spectr
a data. A discussion of the relative sensitivity of the shuttle vector
to each of these classes of mutations is included. These studies have
now been extended to the generation of transgenic rats containing the
same shuttle vector for cross-species analysis. Spontaneous mutant fr
equencies in two transgenic rat lineages were measured in liver and in
germ cells. Preliminary data suggest that spontaneous mutant frequenc
ies in somatic tissue are lower in rats than in mice, a result consist
ent with historical observations of DNA damage and repair in these two
species. Also under evaluation are alternative selectable systems for
mutant identification, and hybrid animals obtained from mating lambda
LIZ transgenics with genetically engineered mice possessing an inacti
vated tumor suppressor gene. It is expected that each of these widely
varying endeavors will contribute, not only in furthering our understa
nding of the role transgenic systems should play in human risk assessm
ent, but in illuminating the mechanisms of mutation in general.