Purification and characterization of androgenic hormone from the terrestrial isopod Armadillidium vulgare Latr. (Crustacea, Oniscidea).

Androgenic hormone (AH) was purified from hypertrophied androgenic glands of intersexed Armadillidium vulgare (genetic males feminized by symbiotic endocellular bacteria). Two isohormones labeled AH1 and AH2 with similar molecular weights in the range 17,000-18,000 were isolated. Amino acid analysis showed the absence of cysteine in these two forms. A polyclonal antiserum was raised which recognized AH1 and AH2. The physiological significance of this polymorphism is still not known.