Nature 225, 968 - 969 (07 March 1970); doi:10.1038/225968a0

Lytic Enzyme produced in vitro by Insect Cells: Lysozyme or Chitinase?

J. C. LANDUREAU^* & P. JOLLÈS^†

^*Laboratoire de Biologie Animale, Faculté des Sciences, 12 rue Cuvier, Paris 5.
^†Laboratoire de Chimie Biologique, Faculté des Sciences, 96 Boulevard Raspail, Paris 6.

THE mechanism of immunity in insects is very poorly understood: no immunological reaction of the antigen−antibody type is known¹. Bactericidal or bacteriolytic^2,3 properties of insect tissues, body fluids or even secretions have been reported, but in the absence of precise biochemical data the nature of the substance responsible has not been established.

References

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2.	Malke, H., Z. Allg. Mikrobiol., 5, 42 (1965).
3.	Mohrig, W., and Messner, B., Biol. Zentralblatt, 87, 439 (1968).
4.	Landureau, J. C., CR Acad. Sci., 262, 1484 (1966).
5.	Landureau, J. C., Exp. Cell Res., 50, 323 (1968).
6.	Landureau, J. C., and Jollès, P., Exp. Cell. Res., 54, 391 (1969).
7.	Jollès, P., Charlemagne, D., Petit, J.-F., Maire, A.-C., and Jollès, J., Bull. Soc. Chim. Biol., 47, 2241 (1965).
8.	Daniel, R. S., and Brooks, H. A., Experientia, 23, 499 (1967).
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10.	Rupley, J. A., Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 83, 245 (1964).
11.	Jollès, P., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl., 8, 227 (1969).