Mutagenicity of fluorene derivatives: a proposed mechanism

Several derivatives of fluorene, a tricyclic, organic molecule, have been found to induce both frameshift mutations and base-pair substitutions in Salmonella typhimurium strains developed by Ames. Comparisons of the mutagenic potency of these derivatives for several strains of Salmonella suggest the importance of a carbonyl group substituted at the carbon-9 position of mutagenic derivatives, with respect to mutagenic potency. In this study, we present a feasible mechanism for the interaction of mutagenic fluorene derivatives with deoxyribonucleic acid. This mechanism requires the interaction of the mutagenic molecule with carbon-8 of guanine and a second concurrent interaction with the C-4 amino group of an adjacent cytosine residue.