Gamma radiation-induced gene rearrangements at the Chinese hamster ovary cell locus coding for the purine salvage enzyme adenine phosphoribosyl transferase (APRT) consist of both simple deletions and more complex alterations that are presumably the result of multiple strand breaks. To characterize these mutations at the DNA sequence level, fragments altered by deletion and insertion mutations were obtained by cloning in lambda phage vectors or by using the polymerase chain reaction. The radiation-induced deletions characterized here eliminate 3-4 kb and have at least one breakpoint in an AT-rich region or near short direct or inverted repeats. Insertions involve small fragments (102 and 456 bp) of repetitive DNA that appear to be related to B2 (short interspersed repetitive) and long interspersed repeat families. The novel fragments bear little resemblance to each other or to sequences at the integration sites, and their introduction is accompanied by a small target site deletion.