Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Identifying DNA Mutations in Purified Hematopoietic Stem/Progenitor Cells
Published on: February 24, 2014
Spontaneous mutators in bacteria: insights into pathways of mutagenesis and repair
1Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California at Los Angeles 90049, USA. jhmiller@ewald.mbi.ucla.edu
Abstract:
Mutators are cells that have a higher mutation rate than the wild type. Such mutators have been extensively studied in bacteria, and this has led to the elucidation of a number of important DNA repair pathways, as well as revealing new pathways of mutagenesis. Repair defects in humans that lead to mutator phenotypes are responsible for a number of cancer susceptibilities. In some cases, these repair systems are the close counterparts of the equivalent bacterial repair system. Therefore, characterizing bacterial mutators and the repair systems that are deficient can aid in discovering the human homolog of these systems.
Related Concept Videos
Mismatch Repair
Mismatch Repair
Nucleotide Excision Repair
Cells are regularly exposed to mutagens—factors in the environment that can damage DNA and generate mutations. UV radiation is one of the most common mutagens and is estimated to introduce a significant number of changes in DNA. These include bends or kinks in the structure, which can block DNA replication or transcription. If these errors are not fixed, the damage can cause mutations, which in turn can result in cancer or disease depending on which sequences are...
Mismatch Repair
The Mutator Protein Family Plays a Key Role in DNA Mismatch Repair
The human genome has more than 3 billion base pairs of DNA per cell. Prior to cell division, that vast amount of genetic...
Mutations in Microorganisms
Spontaneous and Induced Mutations

