Function
Pulses of 20-hydroxyecdysone occur during insect development, whereupon this hormone binds to the ecdysone receptor, a ligand-activated transcription factor found in the nuclei of insect cells. This in turn leads to the activation of many other genes, as evidenced by puffing of polytene chromosomes at over a hundred sites. Ultimately the activation cascade causes physiological changes that result in ecdysis (moulting).
Read more about this topic: Ecdysone Receptor
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—Arnold Bennett (1867–1931)
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—Susanne K. Langer (1895–1985)