what is enu
ENU, also known as N-ethyl-N - nitroso urea (chemical formula C 3 H 7 N 3 O 2), is a highly potent mutagen. For a given gene in mice, ENU can induce 1 new mutation in every 700 loci. It is also toxic at high doses.The chemical is an alkylating agent, and acts by transferring the ethyl group of ENU to nucleobases (usually thymine) in nucleic acids.Its main targets are the spermatogonial stem cells, from which mature sperm are derived.n ENU-treated male is crossed with a wild type female. From the pool of G1 individuals, a heterozygous male is crossed to a female carrying the mutant allele (a). If the G2 progeny are infertile or non-viable, they can be recovered again from the G1 male.