title: Purification and partial characterization of a factor, a mating hormone produced by mating-type-a cells from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
abstract: Cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae exhibiting the a mating type secrete into the culture medium a mating-type-specific hormone activity (a factor), which specifically causes a transient arrest of DNA replication and cell division in cells of the opposite mating type, alpha. Three compounds exhibiting a factor activity have been found in culture filtrates from a cells. The most active compound has been purified more than 10(5)-fold and appears to be homogeneous on the basis of thin-layer chromatography and thin-layer electrophoresis in different systems. We propose that this compound, which exhibits in alpha cells the biological activities that have been attributed to a factor, represents pure a factor. a factor has been characterized as a very hydrophobic undecapeptide with the following amino acid composition: H2N-Tyr (Asx1, Gly1, Ala1, Val1, Ile2, Phe1, Lys1, Trp1, Pro1). Although in their respective target cells the biological effects of a factor and of alpha factor, the corresponding mating hormone of mating-type-alpha cells, are remarkably similar, the primary structures of both hormones appear to be quite different.
mesh_terms: D000371:Agglutination; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000032:analysis; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology; D007700:Kinetics; D008970:Molecular Weight; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D005656:Fungal Proteins