Comparison of the frequencies of ENU-induced point mutations in male germ cells and inherited germline mutations in their offspring

BACKGROUND: Gene mutations induced in germ cells may be transmitted to the next generation and cause adverse effects such as genetic diseases. Certain mutations may result in infertility or death in early development. Thus, the mutations may not be inheritable. However, the extent to which point mutations in male germ cells are transmitted to the next generation or eliminated during transmission is largely unknown. This study compared mutation frequencies (MFs) in sperm of N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU)-treated gpt delta mice and de novo MFs in the whole exome/genome of their offspring. RESULTS: Male gpt delta mice were treated with 10, 30, and 85 mg/kg of ENU (i.p., weekly × 2) and mated with untreated females to generate offspring. We previously reported a dose-dependent increase in de novo MFs in the offspring estimated by whole exome sequencing (WES) (Mutat. Res., 810, 30–39, 2016). In this study, gpt MFs in the sperm of ENU-treated mice were estimated, and the MFs per reporter gene were converted to MFs per base pair. The inherited de novo MFs in the offspring (9, 26 and 133 × 10(− 8)/bp for 10, 30, and 85 mg/kg ENU-treated groups, respectively) were comparable to those of the converted gpt MFs in the sperm of ENU-treated fathers (6, 16, and 69 × 10(− 8)/bp). It indicated that the gpt MFs in the ENU-treated father’s sperm were comparable to the inherited de novo MFs in the offspring as estimated by WES. In addition, de novo MFs in the offspring of 10 mg/kg ENU-treated and control fathers were estimated by whole genome sequencing (WGS), because WES was not sufficiently sensitive to detect low background MF. The de novo MF in the offspring of the ENU-treated fathers was 6 × 10(− 8)/bp and significantly higher than that of the control (2 × 10(− 8)/bp). There were no significant differences in de novo MFs between gene-coding and non-coding regions. WGS analysis was able to detect ENU-induced characteristic de novo base substitutions at a low dose group. CONCLUSIONS: Despite a difference between exome/genome and exogenous reporter genes, the results indicated that ENU-induced point mutations in male germ cells could be transmitted to the next generation without severe selection. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s41021-021-00216-z.