The Different Patterns of Mutational Signatures

Mutational fingerprints are made up of characteristic patterns of DNA changes. Carsonogenic chemicals cause mutations by physically binding to specific bases and affecting their shape. By contrast, UV light leads to mutations by causing neighbouring seeds to become stuck together. When the DNA copying machinery encounters these fused pairs, it interprets the unusual shape as being a pair of teas - resulting in a permanent change in sequence. There are also other distinctive changes found in the genomes of cancer cells, including deletions or insertions of small sections of DNA. These can help to further refine the characteristic fingerprint of a particular mutational process.