Charlotte Auerbach and chemical mutagenesis

A review is presented of the many conceptual contributions of Charlotte Auerbach to the development of the field of chemical mutagenesis during the past thirty years. The following aspects are discussed: (1) differences between the genetic effects of chemicals and X-rays; (2) mosaicism, delayed mutation and replicating instabilities; (3) mutation as a cellular process; (4) specificity; (5) dose-effect curves, and (6) correlation between different kinds of damage.