ABSTRACT
Mutagens may affect either germ cells or somatic cells. Depending on the cell types affected, mutagenesis can have two very different outcomes. Somatic cells, unlike germ cells, are not the cells that contribute genetic information to the next generation. Mutations that occur in somatic cells only produce mutagenic, and often carcinogenic, effects in exposed individuals. Future generations are affected only when mutagens cause genetic damage to germ cells. Mutagens are capable of producing different types of genetic damage, ranging from small-scale point mutations in a single gene to large-scale changes involving whole chromosomes.
