Fire & Water: environmental damage to DNA
Exposure to heat and (or) water
may break the bond between a base and the
sugar-phosphate backbone. Hydrolysis is a
common form of damage in ancient
DNA (aDNA)
found in plant and (or) animal remains. Without a repair
mechanism, hydrolysis leaves a gap in the backbone that
will interfere in recovery of DNA by cloning
or the polymerase chain reaction.