Processes that increase the rate of changes in DNA are called mutagenic: mutagenic chemicals promote errors in DNA replication, often by interfering with the structure of base-pairing, while UV radiation induces mutations by causing damage to the DNA structure.
Procesi koji povećavaju broj promjena DNK nazivaju se mutageni: mutagenske kemikalije promoviraju greške u replikaciji DNK, često utjecanjem na uparivanje traka, dok UV zračenje potiče mutacije stvarajući štetu na strukturi DNK.