Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 1993 Apr 22;362(6422):709-15.
doi: 10.1038/362709a0.

Instability and decay of the primary structure of DNA

T Lindahl  1
Affiliations
Review

Instability and decay of the primary structure of DNA

T Lindahl. Nature. .

Abstract

Although DNA is the carrier of genetic information, it has limited chemical stability. Hydrolysis, oxidation and nonenzymatic methylation of DNA occur at significant rates in vivo, and are counteracted by specific DNA repair processes. The spontaneous decay of DNA is likely to be a major factor in mutagenesis, carcinogenesis and ageing, and also sets limits for the recovery of DNA fragments from fossils.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

  • DNA from ancient mammoth bones.
    Hagelberg E, Thomas MG, Cook CE Jr, Sher AV, Baryshnikov GF, Lister AM. Hagelberg E, et al. Nature. 1994 Aug 4;370(6488):333-4. doi: 10.1038/370333b0. Nature. 1994. PMID: 8047136 No abstract available.
  • Antediluvian DNA research.
    Golenberg EM. Golenberg EM. Nature. 1994 Feb 24;367(6465):692. doi: 10.1038/367692a0. Nature. 1994. PMID: 8107863 No abstract available.

LinkOut - more resources