Exposure of Gambusia affinis to water containing different concentrations of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) causes an increase in benzo[a]pyrene monooxygenase (BPMO) activity which reaches a maximum on the second day. Concomitantly, the DNA is altered in such a way that nuclease S1-sensitive sites (SSS) become measurable. The size distribution of liver DNA treated with nuclease S1 in control fish shows two populations of DNA by length, with means of 30 X 10(6) and 60 X 10(6) Daltons, respectively. In fish treated with 100 ppb BaP, the population with longer molecules of DNA disappears and shorter molecules increase in number. This may be explained in terms of the introduction of an additional 0.31-0.46 DNA nicks per control DNA molecule caused by metabolically activated BaP derivatives.