Citrinin-induced chromosomal abnormalities in the bone marrow cells of Mus musculus.

Oral administration of various doses of citrinin (5 to 20 ppm) to young weanling mice for 8 weeks induced both gross as well as individual types of abnormalities and breakages in the chromosomes of bone marrow cells. The rate of such abnormalities was 5.5% in the controls and 36.0% in the treated variants. Hypoploidy, stickiness and clumping of chromosomes were some of the gross types of abnormalities. Structural chromosomal changes observed were chromosome/chromatid breaks, gaps, acentric fragments, metacentric chromosomes and ring formations.