A chemical or physical agent able to change the genetic material in cells (see "Do all toxic chemicals cause mutations?", Understanding Toxic Substances)
An agent that causes a permanent genetic change in a cell Does not include changes occurring during normal genetic recombination
Any agent capable of altering a cell's genetic makeup by changing the structure of the hereditary material, DNA. Many forms of electromagnetic radiation (e.g., cosmic rays, X rays, ultraviolet light) are mutagenic, as are various chemical compounds. The effects of some mutagens are increased or suppressed in some organisms by the presence of certain other, nonmutagenic substances; oxygen, for example, makes cells more sensitive to the mutagenic effects of X rays
An agent that changes the hereditary genetic material which is a part of every living cell Such a mutation is probably an early step in the sequence of events that ultimately leads to the development of cancer
An agent that causes a permanent genetic change in a cell other than that which occurs during normal growth Testing to determine mutagenicity is one component of assessing the potential chronic toxicity of pesticides and other chemicals