ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the full range of targeted sites in the flow of genetic information, including less efficient low molecular weight protein synthesis inhibitors which target various sites in the scheme. The normal flow of genetic information in biological systems is from DNA to RNA to protein. Protein synthesis is a complex process with many potential sites for toxin interaction. The information in DNA is present in duplicate, with one of the copies encoded in the base sequences for expression as protein or RNA, and the other copy present in the complementary DNA hydrogen-bonded to the first in the form of the double helix. Vulnerability of a cell to inhibitors of protein synthesis usually reflects loss of proteins involved in house-keeping functions rather than differentiated functions. Genotoxins of natural origin were first recognized following investigations of toxicological outbreaks in livestock, or from observations of unusually high human or animal cancer incidence in specific areas.
