| IV. Report of the Iaternational Committee on Genetic
Symbols and Nomenclature Y. TANAKA National Institute of Genetics, Misima, Japan The Committee nominated in 1954 by the Permanent International Committee for Genetics Congresses met on August 20-23, 1957, in Zurich under the auspices of the International Union of Biological Sciences. Present: Y. Tanaka (chairman), Misima; B. Ephrussi, Paris; E. Hadorn. Zurich; A. Hagberg, Svalof; T. Kemp, Copenhagen; A. Love, Montreal; H. Nachtsheim, Berlin; G. Pontecorvo, Glasgow; M. M. Rhoades, Urbana. In attempting to fulfill its task of drafting rules for genetic symbolization, the Committee took as a basis of its work the " Recommendations " prepared by a group of Japanese geneticists after consultation with some participants of the Genetics Symposia held in Tokyo in 1956. After careful consideration of these " Recommendations " and of the suggestions made by a number of geneticists, the present Committee agreed to submit to the Tenth International Congress a short list of recommended rules for symbolization preceded by the following remarks. It is the opinion of the Committee that standardization of symbols and adoption of common rules, although they cannot and should not be made compulsory, are highly desirable whenever possible. Adherence to some standard system would lessen confusion and greatly facilitate communication between specialists in different areas of genetics. In general, the recommendations listed below are based on established practices and are broad enough to be used for diverse situations. We have deliberately refrained from recommending any particular system of symbols for pseudoallelic series since at the present time such a proposal would inevitably reflect a preconceived interpretation of the structure of the genetic material. We have also preferred to make no specific recommendations for the symbolization of the mode of origin (spontanqous or induced) of mutants or for the designations following exposure to various mutagenic agents. It is clear that periodic revisions of nomenclatorial conventions will be called for by the progress of genetics. It is suggested, therefore, that this task be assigned by each Genetics Congress to a committee representing microbial, plant, animal and human genetics. This committee should also encourage the preparation of currently used symbols for genetically imporiznt forms by the investigators working with these organisms. The commitee is of the opinion that well established names and symbols should not be changed unless new results make the old terms scientifically meaningless or misleading. |
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