Blasticidin S is an aminoacylnucleoside antibiotic isolated from Streptomyces griseochromogenes. It shows high efficacy against both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. Aside from its antimicrobial properties, blasticidin has displayed antiviral, antitumor, and antifungal properties and has been used as a selection agent. It has been used to select for cells containing the bls, bsr, or BSD resistance gene as well as HEK293-T cells and HEK-D5 cells. Additionally, blasticidin is effective in preventing cell culture contamination and studying protein synthesis.