The relationship of the leukemogenic and natural killer (NK)-suppressive effects of fractionated doses of gamma-radiation in mice was studied. A/J mice were relatively resistant; CBA/J, BALB/c, and C57BL/6 were susceptible to both the NK-suppressive and leukemogenic effects, and young (1 mo old) C57BL/6 mice were more susceptible than were 2- and 3-month-old C57BL/6 mice to both effects. Age-dependent susceptibility to radiation-induced leukemogenesis also was observed in C57BL/6 (bg/bg) (beige) mice. No differences in incidence and latent period of lymphoma development were found between C57BL/6 (+/+) and beige mice. Bone marrow cells (BMC) from normal C57BL/6 donors reconstituted the NK reactivity of irradiated C57BL/6 (+/+) or beige recipients and inhibited leukemogenesis. Although BMC of beige donors did not reconstitute the NK reactivity of irradiated C57BL/6 (+/+) or beige recipients, these cells were as efficient for antileukemic protection as were BMC from C57BL/6 (+/+) mice. The bone marrow of irradiated mice contained preleukemia cells that produced leukemias when transplanted iv into recipients preirradiated with 400 R. Inoculation (iv) of spleen cells (SpC) from syngeneic nude mice plus preleukemia bone marrow cells (PBMC) were able to inhibit leukemia formation in the 400 R-irradiated recipients. SpC from beige mice, normal C57BL/6 (+/+) mice, or C57BL/6 (+/+) mice treated with anti-asialo GM1 serum had no influence on the development of leukemia after their transplantation with PBMC.