The genome as a record of environmental exposure
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Implication
Experimental genomic study demonstrates distinct mutation signatures in mutagen-exposed mouse embryo fibroblasts, highlighting the potential to trace environmental causes of human cancer.
Key Points
- To determine whether whole-genome sequencing can detect distinct, genome-wide mutation signatures induced by exposure to specific environmental mutagens.
- Treated mouse embryo fibroblasts with three environmental mutagens: benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), ultraviolet light (UV), and aristolochic acid (AA).
- Immortalised exposed fibroblasts and performed whole-genome sequencing to characterize mutation spectra across the entire genome.
- Each tested mutagen produced a distinct genome-wide mutation signature: predominantly G→T mutations for BaP, C→T and tandem CC→TT mutations for UV, and A→T mutations for AA.
- Whole-genome sequencing successfully replicated known single-gene mutational mechanisms while revealing novel mutational patterns across higher levels of genomic organisation.
Cite This Study
Nik‐Zainal et al. (2015) studied this question.