DEOXYRIBONUCLEOSIDE TRIPHOSPHATE LEVELS - A CRITICAL FACTOR IN THE MAINTENANCE OF GENETIC STABILITY

DNA precursor pool imbalances can elicit a variety of genetic effects and modulate the genotoxicity of certain DNA-damaging agents. These an d other observations indicate that the control of DNA precursor concen trations is essential for the maintenance of genetic stability, and su ggest that factors which offset this control may contribute to environ mental mutagenesis and carcinogenesis. In this article, we review the biochemical and genetic mechanisms responsible for regulating the prod uction and relative amounts of intracellular DNA precursors, describe the many outcomes of perturbations in DNA precursor levels, and discus s implications of such imbalances for sensitivity to DNA-damaging agen ts, population monitoring, and human diseases.