MUTAGEN

Mutagen

In genetics, a mutagen is a physical or chemical agent that changes the genetic material, usually DNA, of an organism and thus increases the frequency of mutations above the natural background level. As many mutations cause cancer, mutagens are therefore also likely to be carcinogens. Not all mutations are caused by mutagens: so-called "spontaneous mutations" occur due to spontaneous hydrolysis, errors in DNA replication, repair and recombination.

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mutagen

Noun

  1. any agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: mutagen
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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