Natural radioactivity and human mitochondrial DNA mutations.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Forster L
PROVIDER: S-EPMC129803 | biostudies-literature | 2002 Oct
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Natural radioactivity and human mitochondrial DNA mutations.
Forster Lucy L Forster Peter P Lutz-Bonengel Sabine S Willkomm Horst H Brinkmann Bernd B
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20021007 21
Radioactivity is known to induce tumors, chromosome lesions, and minisatellite length mutations, but its effects on the DNA sequence have not previously been studied. A coastal peninsula in Kerala (India) contains the world's highest level of natural radioactivity in a densely populated area, offering an opportunity to characterize radiation-associated DNA mutations. We sampled 248 pedigrees (988 individuals) in the high-radiation peninsula and in nearby low-radiation islands as a control popula ...[more]
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