Open AccessDestabilizing Effects of Ionizing Radiation on Chromosomes: Sizing up the Damage
Author(s) -
Michael N. Cornforth,
Joel S. Bedford,
Susan M. Bailey
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
cytogenetic and genome research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.571
H-Index - 88
ISSN - 1424-8581
DOI - 10.1159/000516523
Subject(s) - biology , context (archaeology) , genome instability , somatic cell , ionizing radiation , carcinogenesis , genome , dna damage , chromosome , genetics , chromosome instability , dna , microbiology and biotechnology , dna repair , irradiation , cancer , gene , paleontology , physics , nuclear physics
For long-term survival and evolution, all organisms have depended on a delicate balance between processes involved in maintaining stability of their genomes and opposing processes that lead toward destabilization. At the level of mammalian somatic cells in renewal tissues, events or conditions that can tip this balance toward instability have attracted special interest in connection with carcinogenesis. Mutations affecting DNA (and its subsequent repair) would, of course, be a major consideration here. These may occur spontaneously through endogenous cellular processes or as a result of exposure to mutagenic environmental agents. It is in this context that we discuss the rather unique destabilizing effects of ionizing radiation (IR) in terms of its ability to cause large-scale structural rearrangements to the genome. We present arguments supporting the conclusion that these and other important effects of IR originate largely from microscopically visible chromosome aberrations.