The lack of ability of carcinogens and non-carcinogenic analogs to induce sex-linked recessive lethals in Drosophila melanogaster

The mutagenic activity of two known carcinogens (benzo(a) pyrene and 2-acetylaminofluorene) and that of two structurally closely related but not carcinogenic compounds (pyrene and 4-acetylaminofluorene) was examined by the Muller-5 test for sex-linked recessive lethals (SRL). The chemicals tested were applied to the food medium for larvae of Canton-S Drosophila melanogaster. No statistically significant differences in frequencies of induced SRL were found either within pairs of chemicals or between treated and untreated animals.