Several authors have reported the occurrence of renal and hepatic tumours in mice and rats exposed to ochratoxin A in long-term studies. The compound was not mutagenic, however, in various microbial and mammalian gene mutation assays, either with or without metabolic activation. Contradictory results were obtained for induction of unscheduled DNA synthesis and sister chromatid exchange. We showed previously that ochratoxin A causes DNA damage, manifested as single-strand breaks in mouse spleen cells and in vivo. These findings, which suggest that ochratoxin A is weakly genotoxic to mammalian cells, prompted us to search for DNA adducts using a modified 32P-postlabelling method, the sensitivity of which was improved by treatment with nuclease P1. DNA was isolated from liver, kidney and spleen excised from mice 24, 48 and 72 h after oral treatment with ochratoxin A at 0.6, 1.2 and 2.5 mg/kg body weight. Several adducts were found in the DNA of the three organs, the levels varying greatly. After administration of 2.5 mg/kg body weight, 40 adducts per 10(9) nucleotides were found in kidney DNA and 7 adducts per 10(9) nucleotides in liver after 72 h. The levels of most of the adducts increased from 24 to 72 h, but those of others diminished after 24 or 48 h. Adducts were found in spleen only at 24 and 48 h. These results confirm the genotoxicity of ochratoxin A.