Increasing evidence suggests that urbanization is associated with higher mutation rates, which can affect the health and evolution of organisms that inhabit cities. Elevated pollution levels in urban areas can induce DNA damage, leading to de novo mutations. Studies on mutations induced by urban pollution are most prevalent in humans and microorganisms, whereas studies of non-human eukaryotes are rare, even though increased mutation rates have the potential to affect organisms and their populations in contemporary time. Our Perspective explores how higher mutation rates in urban environments could impact the fitness, ecology and evolution of populations. Most mutations will be neutral or deleterious, and higher mutation rates associated with elevated pollution in urban populations can increase the risk of cancer in humans and potentially other species. We highlight the potential for urban-driven increased deleterious mutational loads in some organisms, which could lead to a decline in population growth of a wide diversity of organisms. Although beneficial mutations are expected to be rare, we argue that higher mutation rates in urban areas could influence adaptive evolution, especially in organisms with short generation times. Finally, we explore avenues for future research to better understand the effects of urban-induced mutations on the fitness, ecology and evolution of city-dwelling organisms.

越来越多的证据表明，城市化与较高的突变率有关，这可能会影响城市中生物的健康和进化。城市地区污染水平升高会引起 DNA 损伤，导致新生突变。对城市污染引起的突变的研究在人类和微生物中最为普遍，而对非人类真核生物的研究却很少，尽管突变率的增加有可能影响当代的生物体及其种群。我们的观点探讨了城市环境中较高的突变率如何影响人口的健康、生态和进化。大多数突变是中性的或有害的，与城市人口污染加剧相关的较高突变率可能会增加人类和其他物种患癌症的风险。我们强调城市驱动的某些生物体中有害突变负荷增加的可能性，这可能导致多种生物体的种群增长下降。尽管有益的突变预计很少见，但我们认为城市地区较高的突变率可能会影响适应性进化，特别是在世代时间较短的生物体中。最后，我们探索未来研究的途径，以更好地了解城市诱发的突变对城市生物的适应性、生态和进化的影响。