Breaking bad: The mutagenic effect of DNA repair

Species survival depends on the faithful replication of genetic information, which is continually monitored and maintained by DNA repair pathways that correct replication errors and the thousands of lesions that arise daily from the inherent chemical lability of DNA and the effects of genotoxic agents. Nonetheless, neutrally evolving DNA (not under purifying selection) accumulates base substitutions with time (the neutral mutation rate). Thus,...