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. 1983 Feb;71(2):327–332. doi: 10.1104/pp.71.2.327

Partial Purification and Characterization of a Glycoprotein Cell Fusion Hormone from Griffithsia pacifica, a Red Alga 1

Bruce A Watson 1, Susan D Waaland 1
PMCID: PMC1066033  PMID: 16662826

Abstract

In filaments of the red alga Griffithsia, dead intercalary cells are replaced by the process of cell repair by cell fusion. This process is coordinated by a morphogenetic cell fusion hormone, rhodomorphin, which accelerates cell division and induces the production of a specialized repair cell. We have isolated rhodomorphin from Griffithsia pacifica Kylin and have purified it by concanavalin A affinity chromatography, hydrophobic interaction chromatography, and gel filtration chromatography. This molecule binds specifically to concanavalin A, is proteinase sensitive, and is inactivated by short treatments at temperatures of 50°C or above. It therefore appears that rhodomorphin from G. pacifica is a glycoprotein; its molecular weight, as estimated by gel filtration, is approximately 14,000.

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Selected References

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