Comparison of the yields of translocations and dicentrics measured using conventional Giemsa staining and chromosome painting.

Inconsistent results have been reported regarding the yields of translocations and dicentrics measured using chromosome painting. This inconsistency may be due to mis-scoring of dicentrics as translocations because painting is unsuited to identify centromere positions. In the present study, chromosome aberrations exclusively in the first mitosis after irradiation were analyzed using human peripheral lymphocytes. When identical metaphases were analyzed by both painting and conventional Giemsa staining, which is the most reliable method to locate centromeres, equal frequencies of translocations and dicentrics were observed.