Enzyme Induction, Mutagen Activation and Carcinogen Testing in Yeast - Ellis Horwood Series in Biochemistry & Biotechnology.

This is a documentation of the scientific basis for the use of yeasts to detect mutagenic chemicals. Such mutagens are likely to be carcinogenic and lead to an incidence of cancers in man. Small amounts of such chemicals can be present in foodstuffs, pharmaceutical preparations and in the environment.;The authors explain how this phenomenon is due to the presence in some tissues of a form of the enzyme, cytochrome, induced by the carcinogen itself. A similar induction of cytochrome occurs in yeast, which can lead to the activation of the carcinogens as detected by various genetic effects displayed then by the yeast subjected to such mutagenesis. The arranged presence of cytochrome in the yeast obviates the need to add rat liver preparations containing this enzyme system to activate the mutagenic (and carcinogenic) chemicals outside the test cell (unlike the case with some other rapid test systems that do not contain cytochrome).