We recently showed (Scott and Zampetti-Bosseler 1980) that X-ray sensitive mouse lymphoma cells sustain more chromosome damage, mitotic delay and spindle defects than X-ray resistant cells. We proposed that (a) chromosome aberrations contribute much more to lethality than spindle defects, and (b) that DNA lesions are less effectively repaired in the sensitive cells and give rise to more G2 mitotic delay and chromosome aberrations. Our present results on human fibroblasts with reported differential sensitivity to ionizing radiation (i.e. normal donors and patients with ataxia telangiectasia and retinoblastoma) support the first hypothesis since we observed a positive correlation between chromosome aberration frequencies and cell killing and no induced spindle defects. Our second hypothesis is however not substantiated since X-ray sensitive fibroblasts from the ataxia patient suffered less mitotic delay than cells from normal donors. A common lesion for mitotic delay and chromosome aberrations can still be assumed by adopting the hypothesis of Painter and Young (1981) that the defect in ataxia cells is not in repair but in a failure of DNA damage to initiate mitotic delay. In contrast to other reports, we found the retinoblastoma cells to be of normal radiation sensitivity (cell killing and aberration).