Chemical agents that increase the rate of genetic mutation by interfering with the function of nucleic acids. A clastogen is a specific mutagen that causes breaks in chromosomes.

Tests of chemical substances and physical agents for mutagenic potential. They include microbial, insect, mammalian cell, and whole animal tests.

Agents that reduce the frequency or rate of spontaneous or induced mutations independently of the mechanism involved.

Substances that increase the risk of NEOPLASMS in humans or animals. Both genotoxic chemicals, which affect DNA directly, and nongenotoxic chemicals, which induce neoplasms by other mechanism, are included.

A nitrosourea compound with alkylating, carcinogenic, and mutagenic properties.

An antineoplastic agent with alkylating properties. It also acts as a mutagen by damaging DNA and is used experimentally for that effect.

Used formerly as antimicrobial food additive. It causes mutations in many cell cultures and may be carcinogenic.

A serotype of Salmonella enterica that is a frequent agent of Salmonella gastroenteritis in humans. It also causes PARATYPHOID FEVER.

The art or practice of preparing food. It includes the preparation of special foods for diets in various diseases.

A potent mutagen and carcinogen. This compound and its metabolite 4-HYDROXYAMINOQUINOLINE-1-OXIDE bind to nucleic acids. It inactivates bacteria but not bacteriophage.

A nitrosoguanidine derivative with potent mutagenic and carcinogenic properties.

The chemical alteration of an exogenous substance by or in a biological system. The alteration may inactivate the compound or it may result in the production of an active metabolite of an inactive parent compound. The alterations may be divided into METABOLIC DETOXICATION, PHASE I and METABOLIC DETOXICATION, PHASE II.

7,8,8a,9a-Tetrahydrobenzo(10,11)chryseno (3,4-b)oxirene-7,8-diol. A benzopyrene derivative with carcinogenic and mutagenic activity.

Any detectable and heritable change in the genetic material that causes a change in the GENOTYPE and which is transmitted to daughter cells and to succeeding generations.

A highly fluorescent anti-infective dye used clinically as a topical antiseptic and experimentally as a mutagen, due to its interaction with DNA. It is also used as an intracellular pH indicator.

Ring compounds having atoms other than carbon in their nuclei. (Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed)

A group of compounds derived from ammonia by substituting organic radicals for the hydrogens. (From Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed)

Carcinogenic substances that are found in the environment.

Induction and quantitative measurement of chromosomal damage leading to the formation of micronuclei (MICRONUCLEI, CHROMOSOME-DEFECTIVE) in cells which have been exposed to genotoxic agents or IONIZING RADIATION.

Process of generating a genetic MUTATION. It may occur spontaneously or be induced by MUTAGENS.

A potent mutagen and carcinogen. It is a public health concern because of its possible effects on industrial workers, as an environmental pollutant, an as a component of tobacco smoke.

A group of pyrido-indole compounds. Included are any points of fusion of pyridine with the five-membered ring of indole and any derivatives of these compounds. These are similar to CARBAZOLES which are benzo-indoles.

The products of chemical reactions that result in the addition of extraneous chemical groups to DNA.

Compounds having the nitro group, -NO2, attached to carbon. When attached to nitrogen they are nitramines and attached to oxygen they are NITRATES.

The edible portions of any animal used for food including domestic mammals (the major ones being cattle, swine, and sheep) along with poultry, fish, shellfish, and game.

Highly reactive chemicals that introduce alkyl radicals into biologically active molecules and thereby prevent their proper functioning. Many are used as antineoplastic agents, but most are very toxic, with carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic, and immunosuppressant actions. They have also been used as components in poison gases.

The presence in food of harmful, unpalatable, or otherwise objectionable foreign substances, e.g. chemicals, microorganisms or diluents, before, during, or after processing or storage.

1,2-Benzphenanthrenes. POLYCYCLIC COMPOUNDS obtained from coal tar.

A family of diphenylenemethane derivatives.

Potentially toxic, but effective antischistosomal agent, it is a metabolite of LUCANTHONE.

Compounds consisting of two or more fused ring structures.

Injuries to DNA that introduce deviations from its normal, intact structure and which may, if left unrepaired, result in a MUTATION or a block of DNA REPLICATION. These deviations may be caused by physical or chemical agents and occur by natural or unnatural, introduced circumstances. They include the introduction of illegitimate bases during replication or by deamination or other modification of bases; the loss of a base from the DNA backbone leaving an abasic site; single-strand breaks; double strand breaks; and intrastrand (PYRIMIDINE DIMERS) or interstrand crosslinking. Damage can often be repaired (DNA REPAIR). If the damage is extensive, it can induce APOPTOSIS.

An exchange of segments between the sister chromatids of a chromosome, either between the sister chromatids of a meiotic tetrad or between the sister chromatids of a duplicated somatic chromosome. Its frequency is increased by ultraviolet and ionizing radiation and other mutagenic agents and is particularly high in BLOOM SYNDROME.

An alkylating agent in cancer therapy that may also act as a mutagen by interfering with and causing damage to DNA.

The reconstruction of a continuous two-stranded DNA molecule without mismatch from a molecule which contained damaged regions. The major repair mechanisms are excision repair, in which defective regions in one strand are excised and resynthesized using the complementary base pairing information in the intact strand; photoreactivation repair, in which the lethal and mutagenic effects of ultraviolet light are eliminated; and post-replication repair, in which the primary lesions are not repaired, but the gaps in one daughter duplex are filled in by incorporation of portions of the other (undamaged) daughter duplex. Excision repair and post-replication repair are sometimes referred to as "dark repair" because they do not require light.

A group of alkylating agents derived from mustard gas, with the sulfur replaced by nitrogen. They were formerly used as toxicants and vesicants, but now function as antineoplastic agents. These compounds are also powerful mutagens, teratogens, immunosuppressants, and carcinogens.

Measurement and evaluation of the components of substances to be taken as FOOD.

Abnormal number or structure of chromosomes. Chromosome aberrations may result in CHROMOSOME DISORDERS.

White blood cells formed in the body's lymphoid tissue. The nucleus is round or ovoid with coarse, irregularly clumped chromatin while the cytoplasm is typically pale blue with azurophilic (if any) granules. Most lymphocytes can be classified as either T or B (with subpopulations of each), or NATURAL KILLER CELLS.

A potent hepatotoxic and hepatocarcinogenic mycotoxin produced by the Aspergillus flavus group of fungi. It is also mutagenic, teratogenic, and causes immunosuppression in animals. It is found as a contaminant in peanuts, cottonseed meal, corn, and other grains. The mycotoxin requires epoxidation to aflatoxin B1 2,3-oxide for activation. Microsomal monooxygenases biotransform the toxin to the less toxic metabolites aflatoxin M1 and Q1.

A genotoxicological technique for measuring DNA damage in an individual cell using single-cell gel electrophoresis. Cell DNA fragments assume a "comet with tail" formation on electrophoresis and are detected with an image analysis system. Alkaline assay conditions facilitate sensitive detection of single-strand damage.

That portion of the electromagnetic spectrum immediately below the visible range and extending into the x-ray frequencies. The longer wavelengths (near-UV or biotic or vital rays) are necessary for the endogenous synthesis of vitamin D and are also called antirachitic rays; the shorter, ionizing wavelengths (far-UV or abiotic or extravital rays) are viricidal, bactericidal, mutagenic, and carcinogenic and are used as disinfectants.

Either of the two longitudinally adjacent threads formed when a eukaryotic chromosome replicates prior to mitosis. The chromatids are held together at the centromere. Sister chromatids are derived from the same chromosome. (Singleton & Sainsbury, Dictionary of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, 2d ed)

Nitrous acid (HNO2). A weak acid that exists only in solution. It can form water-soluble nitrites and stable esters. (From Merck Index, 11th ed)

A group of condensed ring hydrocarbons.

A method of measuring the effects of a biologically active substance using an intermediate in vivo or in vitro tissue or cell model under controlled conditions. It includes virulence studies in animal fetuses in utero, mouse convulsion bioassay of insulin, quantitation of tumor-initiator systems in mouse skin, calculation of potentiating effects of a hormonal factor in an isolated strip of contracting stomach muscle, etc.

Four fused benzyl rings with three linear and one angular, that can be viewed as a benzyl-phenanthrenes. Compare with NAPHTHACENES which are four linear rings.

Substances or organisms which pollute the water or bodies of water. Use for water pollutants in general or those for which there is no specific heading.

A subdiscipline of genetics that studies RADIATION EFFECTS on the components and processes of biological inheritance.

Products of the hydrolysis of chlorophylls in which the phytic acid side chain has been removed and the carboxylic acids saponified.

Defective nuclei produced during the TELOPHASE of MITOSIS or MEIOSIS by lagging CHROMOSOMES or chromosome fragments derived from spontaneous or experimentally induced chromosomal structural changes.

A cytochrome P450 enzyme subtype that has specificity for relatively planar heteroaromatic small molecules, such as CAFFEINE and ACETAMINOPHEN.

Organic compounds that include a cyclic ether with three ring atoms in their structure. They are commonly used as precursors for POLYMERS such as EPOXY RESINS.

A nitrosamine derivative with alkylating, carcinogenic, and mutagenic properties. It causes serious liver damage and is a hepatocarcinogen in rodents.

Substances or energies, for example heat or light, which when introduced into the air, water, or land threaten life or health of individuals or ECOSYSTEMS.

An enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of acetyl groups from ACETYL-COA to arylamines. It can also catalyze acetyl transfer between arylamines without COENZYME A and has a wide specificity for aromatic amines, including SEROTONIN. However, arylamine N-acetyltransferase should not be confused with the enzyme ARYLALKYLAMINE N-ACETYLTRANSFERASE which is also referred to as SEROTONIN ACETYLTRANSFERASE.

A deoxyribonucleotide polymer that is the primary genetic material of all cells. Eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms normally contain DNA in a double-stranded state, yet several important biological processes transiently involve single-stranded regions. DNA, which consists of a polysugar-phosphate backbone possessing projections of purines (adenine and guanine) and pyrimidines (thymine and cytosine), forms a double helix that is held together by hydrogen bonds between these purines and pyrimidines (adenine to thymine and guanine to cytosine).

Penetrating, high-energy electromagnetic radiation emitted from atomic nuclei during NUCLEAR DECAY. The range of wavelengths of emitted radiation is between 0.1 - 100 pm which overlaps the shorter, more energetic hard X-RAYS wavelengths. The distinction between gamma rays and X-rays is based on their radiation source.

Organic salts or esters of methanesulfonic acid.

A subfamily in the family MURIDAE, comprising the hamsters. Four of the more common genera are Cricetus, CRICETULUS; MESOCRICETUS; and PHODOPUS.

Presence of warmth or heat or a temperature notably higher than an accustomed norm.

An enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of 5-phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphate and hypoxanthine, guanine, or 6-mercaptopurine to the corresponding 5'-mononucleotides and pyrophosphate. The enzyme is important in purine biosynthesis as well as central nervous system functions. Complete lack of enzyme activity is associated with the LESCH-NYHAN SYNDROME, while partial deficiency results in overproduction of uric acid. EC 2.4.2.8.

Compounds with three aromatic rings in linear arrangement with a SULFUR in the center ring.

Any substances taken in by the body that provide nourishment.

A major group of unsaturated cyclic hydrocarbons containing two or more rings. The vast number of compounds of this important group, derived chiefly from petroleum and coal tar, are rather highly reactive and chemically versatile. The name is due to the strong and not unpleasant odor characteristic of most substances of this nature. (From Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, 12th ed, p96)

An antischistosomal agent that has become obsolete.

Carcinogenic nitrosamine that may be formed from preservatives in meats during their preparation or in the liver during metabolism.