ABSTRACT
Fundamental to an appreciation of the impact of the environment on genes is an understanding of the wide range of different types of damage that can be inflicted on the DNA of organisms following their exposure to environmental hazards. Over many years considerable effort has gone into analyzing precisely the chemical nature of such damage. The aim of this chapter is to provide an introduction to the different types of structural damage to DNA that can be brought by environmental factors which have particular relevance to our present way of life. As indicated in the previous chapter (Figure 1.1), these include toxic synthetic chemicals of major concern in industrial communities; air pollutants from industrial sources and automobile exhausts; the components of tobacco smoke and asbestos; the growing hazards of ultraviolet radiation resulting from the shrinkage of the ozone layer, ionizing radiation from natural sources and energy generation systems; and ‘therapeutic’ drugs and components of our food. While these environmental hazards can bring about specific structural damage to DNA molecules, a comparison is made with environmental microbial and viral
pathogens which have the ability to alter radically segments of their host’s DNA, but by distinct complex genetic mechanisms.
