Relation of the radiosensitivity of yeast cells to the LET of the radiation. Effect of additional growth and its contribution to resistance and the shape of the survival curve of diploid cells

A study was made of the contribution of the additional growth effect to the survival rate of Saccharomyces cerevisiae diploid yeasts and its influence on the survival curve shape after exposure to ionizing radiation of different linear energy transfer (LET). The effect of the additional growth was shown to be the only factor responsible for a sigmoid shape of the survival curve of diploid yeasts affected by high LET radiation. As LET increased the contribution of the additional growth effect to the survival rate decreased: this was due to the pattern of cell distribution by the number of radiation lesions that altered with alterations in LET.