Tags: Chemical Compound, Chemical Substance.
Ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) is a mutagenic teratogenic and possibly carcinogenic organic compound with formula CH3SO3C2H5. It produces random mutations in genetic material by nucleotide substitution; particularly by guanine alkylation. This typically produces only point mutations. It can induce mutations at a rate of 5×10-4 to 5×10-2 per gene without substantial killing. The ethyl group of EMS reacts with guanine in DNA forming the abnormal base O-6-ethylguanine.
