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Characterization And Evolution Of The Serh Immobilization Antigen Genes In Tetrahymena Thermophila, Christopher Thomas Mcginness

ETD Archive

Tetrahymena thermophila express a major cell surface protein known as the immobilization (i-) antigen which coats the entire cell surface including the cilia. T. thermophila has several different i-antigens which are expressed in a mutually exclusive manner under varying environmental conditions. When the genes for these i-antigens were sequenced it was found that they encode proteins consisting of imperfect repeats with cysteine periodicity. The best characterized of these i-antigens are those specified by alleles at the SerH i-antigen locus. The H proteins all contain a section of 8-cysteine containing imperfect repeats. The presence of repeats allows for the possibility that …