Report of the 47th annual conference and the golden jubilee year meeting of the Environmental Mutagen Society of India (EMSI) and international conference on environmental and molecular mutagenesis: genomic integrity and implication to human health,

The 47th Annual Conference and the Golden Jubilee Year Meeting of the Environmental Mutagen Society of India (EMSI) and International Conference on Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis: Genomic Integrity and Implication to Human Health was held at the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu, India, during January 29-31, 2025. Among the 18 international speakers, the former president of The Japanese Environmental Mutagen and Genome Society, the former and present presidents of UK Environmental Mutagen Societies (EMS) and the Office Bearers of the Indian EMS participated in the conference. The pre-conference workshop was held at the same venue one day before the main conference. Plenary and invited lecturers spoke about the assay systems, study parameters, biomarkers of disease onset, regulatory issues, and technological advancements in mutagenicity and carcinogenicity research. In brief: the effects of pesticides, heavy metals, nanoparticles, pharmaceutical impurities, UV-radiation, etc. on DNA damage and alterations in signalling and metabolic pathways were discussed. Discussion on errors in DNA-repair leading to disease-onset, remediation of genotoxicity with phytochemicals, identification of drug candidates, and progress in technological advancements such as error corrected Next Generation Sequencing (ecNGS) justified the theme of the Mutagen Societies. Altogether, 12 plenaries, 37 invited lectures, and general presentations, including 42 oral and 80 posters made the conference a grand success through lively interactive discussions. The organising team and EMSI expressed sincere thanks and gratitude to all the participants.