INDUCTION OF GENETIC-RECOMBINATION - CONSEQUENCES AND MODEL SYSTEMS

Radiation and many chemicals have been found to induce homologous gene tic recombination. Experimental systems that allow the detection and c haracterization of recombinagens exist in organisms as diverse os bact eria, fungi, plants, insects, and mammals. Recombination plays an impo rtant role in many biological processes, and studies of recombinagens can provide insight into underlying mechanisms. Studies of recombinage ns are also of applied interest in genetic toxicology, because recombi national events in somatic cells can contribute to human disease. Clea r connections have been established between mitotic recombination and the etiology of some cancers. This article briefly reviews two aspects of the induction of genetic recombination by radiation and chemicals- the health implications of recombinagenic effects and assays for detec ting recombinagens. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.