Oxygen exists in two gaseous (dioxygen and ozone) and six solid allotropic modifications. An
additional allotropic modification of oxygen the cyclooctaoxygen was predicted to exist in
1990. The first synthesis and characterization of cyclooctaoxygen as its sodium crown complex
isolated in the form of three cytosine nucleoside hydrochloride complexes was reported in
2016. Cyclooctaoxygen sodium was synthesized in vitro from atmospheric oxygen or catalase
effect-generated oxygen under catalysis of cytosine nucleosides and either ninhydrin or
eukaryotic low-molecular weight RNA. Thin-layer chromatographic mobility shift assays were
applied on specific nucleic acids and the cyclooctaoxygen sodium complex. The cationic
cyclooctaoxygen sodium complex was shown to bind to nucleic acids (RNA and DNA) to associate
with single-stranded DNA and spermine phosphate and to be essentially non-toxic to cultured
mammalian cells at 0.1-1.0 mM concentration. It is postulated that cyclooctaoxygen is formed in
most eukaryotic cells in vivo from dihydrogen peroxide in a catalase reaction catalysed by
cytidine and RNA. A molecular biological model was deduced for a first epigenetic shell of
eukaryotic in vivo DNA. This model incorporates an epigenetic explanation for the interactions
of the essential micronutrient selenium (as selenite) with eukaryotic in vivo DNA. The
sperminium hydrogen phosphate cyclooctaoxygen sodium complex is calculated to cover the
actively transcribed regions (2.6%) of bovine lymphocyte interphase genome. Cyclooctaoxygen
seems to be naturally absent in hypoxia-induced highly condensed chromatin taken as a model
for eukaryotic metaphase anaphase early telophase mitotic chromatin. Hence it is proposed that
the cyclooctaoxygen sodium-bridged sperminium hydrogen phosphate and selenite coverage serves
as an epigenetic shell of actively transcribed gene regions in eukaryotic 'open' euchromatin
DNA. It is proposed that the sperminium phosphate cyclooctaoxygen sodium complex coverage of
nucleic acids is essential to eukaryotic gene regulation and promoted proto-eukaryotic
evolution. Cyclooctaoxygen sodium-bridged sperminium hydrogen selenite is calculated to serve
as a marker shell component at ATG start codons in human euchromatin DNA mRNA genes both at
the translation initiation triplet and at 5'-untranslated region upstream ATGs. The total
herbicide glyphosate (ROUNDUP®) and its metabolite (aminomethyl)phosphonic acid (AMPA) are
proved to represent 'epigenetic poisons' since they both selectively destroy the
cyclooctaoxygen sodium complex. This definition is of reason since the destruction of
cyclooctaoxygen is certainly sufficient to bring the protection shield of human euchromatin
into collateral epigenetic collapse. The total herbicide glyphosate and its environmental
metabolite (aminomethyl)phosphonic acid (AMPA) can be associated in vitro with catalytic
detoriation of eukaryotic euchromatin genetic information. The epigenetic shell of eukaryotic
euchromatin is susceptible to decay induced by catalytic epigenetic poisons threatening
eukaryotic genomic heritage.
