Median effective dose (ED
50) of diethyl ether was determined using loss of "avoidance reflex". The ED
50 in an ether-resistant mutant strain,
Eth-29, was 2.90%atm in females and 3.02%atm in males and that in an ether-sensitive strain,
bw; st; svn, was 1.69%atm in females and 1.71%atm in males. The sensitivity to gamma-irradiation of
60Co was evaluated by knock-down: the ED
50 in
Eth-29 was 1.20kGy in females and 1.16kGy in males, while the ED
50 of
bw; st; svn was 1.59kGy in females and 1.50kGy in males. The
Eth-29 was more resistant to ether anesthesia and more sensitive to gamma-irradiation than
bw; st; svn. The ether resistance and radiation sensitivity in the F1 progeny of reciprocal crosses between
Eth-29 and
bw; st; svn, were intermediate between those of their parents. From chromosomal analysis, using synthesizing strains by chromosomal substitution between
Eth-29 and
bw; st; svn, it was revealed that the major gene(s) of the ether resistance and radiosensitivity were located on the second chromosome and minor gene (s) on the third chromosome. The opposite effects between ether anesthesia and
60Co γ-radiation damage in
Eth-29 were proved at chromosomal level. Both knock-down and loss of avoidance reflex refer to a state of dyskinesia associated with convulsion and paralysis, and which involves disfunction of the central nervous system, We propose that ether resistance and radiosensitivity in
Eth-29 of the central nervous system have developed simultaneously.
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