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The World of Protozoa, Rotifera, Nematoda and Oligochaeta

Ref ID : 7347

Claudio Ortenzi and Pierangelo Luporini; Competition among Homologous Polypeptide Pheromones of the Ciliate Euplotes raikovi for Binding to Each Other's Cell Receptors. J.Eukaryot.Microbiol. 42(3):242-248, 1995

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Purified preparations of the polypeptide pheromones Er-1 and Er-2 were obtained from type I and II cells of Euplotes raikovi, respectively, radiolabeled, and used to study their ability to compete with each other in binding to the same type I and II cells and to type X cells secreting Er-10, another pheromone homologous to Er-1 and Er-2. It was shown that: 1) These radiolabeled types. 2) Every pheromone binding reaction can be completely inhibited by another homologous pheromone added in excess to cells. These results are discussed in relation to phenomena, common in ciliates, of instability of (homotypic) mating pairs formed between genotypically identical cells suspended with a foreign (nonself) pheromone.