A deadly cyclic peptide toxin found in Amanita mushrooms that disrupts RNA synthesis in cells and is used in research to study genetic processes.
From Amanita (the mushroom genus) plus the chemical suffix -in used to name toxins and compounds. The term emerged in early 20th-century biochemistry when scientists isolated and identified the specific poison.
Amanitin is so useful for scientists that they deliberately extract it from deadly mushrooms to use in laboratories—it's toxic because it blocks RNA production, which is exactly why it helps researchers understand how genes actually work.
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