Premium
Chemical Signaling in Ciliates
Author(s) -
LUPORINI PIERANGELO,
VALLESI ADRIANA,
MICELI CRISTINA,
BRADSHAW RALPH A.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
journal of eukaryotic microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.067
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1550-7408
pISSN - 1066-5234
DOI - 10.1111/j.1550-7408.1995.tb01567.x
Subject(s) - biology , sex pheromone , pheromone , ciliate , context (archaeology) , evolutionary biology , mating type , chemical communication , homology (biology) , genetics , ecology , computational biology , gene , paleontology
. For long, our knowledge of the biology of ciliate pheromones has long relied solely upon the study of the two structurally unrelated “gamones” identified in culture filtrates of a Blepharisma species. However, the characterization of a number of polypeptide pheromones secreted by Euplotes raikovi and E. octocarinatus has now established that structural relationships of homology usually link these molecules, which is consistent with the genetic basis of the mating type systems evolved by these species. In this context, our growing appreciation of the conserved and variable elements of the pheromone architecture should foster progress in the understanding of pheromone‐receptor interactions and thus, provide important clues into pheromone mechanisms of action.