The isolation of a new killer/sensitive phenotype of the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is described. Killer/sensitive yeast cells are killed by the killer factor (KF1) secreted by killer yeast cells. The killer/sensitive cells also secrete a new killer factor (KF2) which kills sensitive cells. The production of KF2 by killer/sensitive cells renders them less sensitive to KF1 than sensitive cells. Sensitive cells are most susceptible to the action of KF2 in log phase. KF2 is a thermostable protein- containing killer factor.
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