The mutagen nitrous acid replaces amino groups with keto groups, thus converting cytosine into uracil or adenine into hypoxanthine. The pairing of these modified bases leads to a mutation when the strand replicates. (Reprinted with permission from Brooker RJ: Genetics: Analysis & Principles, 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008.) Source: Mutation, Medical Genetics: An Integrated Approach Citation: Schaefer G, Thompson, Jr. JN. Medical Genetics: An Integrated Approach; 2017 Available at: https://accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/DownloadImage.aspx?image=/data/books/2247/schaefer_ch7_f008-1.png&sec=173744554&BookID=2247&ChapterSecID=173744507&imagename= Accessed: November 07, 2017 Copyright © 2017 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved