RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Clay-induced DNA double-strand breaks underlay genetic diversity, antibiotic resistance and molecular basis of asbestosis JF bioRxiv FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory SP 111534 DO 10.1101/111534 A1 Alexandro Rodríguez-Rojas A1 Renate Radek A1 Jerónimo Rodríguez-Beltran A1 Jesús Blázquez A1 Jens Rolff YR 2017 UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/02/25/111534.abstract AB Some natural clays and synthetic nanofibres present in the environment have a severe impact on human health. After several decades of research, the molecular mechanism of how asbestos induce cancers is not well understood. Different fibres, including asbestos, can penetrate and transform both, bacterial and eukaryotic cells. We found that sepiolite and asbestos cause double-strand breaks in bacteria when the incubation occurs under friction forces. Since antibiotics and clays are used together in animal husbandry, we propose that this mutagenic effect constitutes a pathway to antibiotic resistance due to the friction provided by peristalsis of the gut from farm animals. We also discuss the possibility that the same mechanism could generate bacteria diversity in natural scenarios with a role in the evolution of species. Finally, we provide a new model on how asbestos promotes mutagenesis and cancer based on the genotoxicity that we observe in bacteria.