Patent ID: 6982169

Claim:
A method for making a hypermutable plant or yeast cell in vitro comprising exposing a plant cell or yeast cell to an inhibitor of mismatch repair, thereby rendering said cell hypermutable, wherein said inhibitor is an anthracene, wherein said anthracene has the formula: wherein R 1 -R 10 are independently hydrogen, hydroxyl, amino group, alkyl, substituted alkyl, alkenyl, substituted alkenyl, alkynyl, substituted alkynyl, O-alkyl, S-alkyl, N-alkyl, O-alkenyl, S-alkenyl, N-alkenyl, O-alkynyl, S-alkynyl, N-alkynyl, aryl, substituted aryl, aryloxy, substituted aryloxy, heteroaryl, substituted heteroaryl, aralkyloxy, arylalkyl, alkylaryl, alkylaryloxy, arylsulfonyl, alkylsulfonyl, alkoxycarbonyl, aryloxycarbonyl, guanidino, carboxy, an alcohol, an amino acid, sulfonate, alkyl sulfonate, CN, NO 2 , an aldehyde group, an ester, an ether, a crown ether, a ketone, an organosulfur compound, an organometallic group, a carboxylic acid, an organosilicon or a carbohydrate that optionally contains one or more alkylated hydroxyl groups; wherein said heteroaryl, and substituted heteroaryl contain at least one heteroatom that is oxygen, sulfur, a metal atom, phosphorus, silicon or nitrogen; and wherein said substituents of the substituted alkyl, substituted alkenyl, substituted alkynyl, substituted aryl, and substituted heteroaryl are halogen, CN, NO 2 , lower alkyl, aryl, heteroaryl, aralkyl, aralkyloxy, guanidino, alkoxycarbonyl, alkoxy, hydroxy, carboxy or amino group; and wherein said amino group is optionally substituted with an acyl group, or 1 to 3 aryl or lower alkyl groups.