Sexual Pheromones in Algae

Maier, Ingo; Müller, Dieter G.

doi:10.2307/1541801

Cited by 196 publications

(88 citation statements)

References 84 publications

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“…A small amount of water motion should be beneficial for fertilization, because it ensures adequate mixing of gametes (Denny & Shibata 1989). However, it may be less important for F. distichus, which is a monoecious seaweed capable of self-fertilization in which sperm are actively attracted to eggs by a pheromone (Maier & Miiller 1986). Following the release of gametangia from the conceptacles, there is a short period during which gametes remain associated with the parent receptacles, since a quantity of mucilage is released together with the gametangia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproductive ecology, of Fucus distichus (Phaeophyceae):an intertidal alga with successful external fertilization

Ga¹,

Sh²

1996

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

110

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Patterns of natural gamete release and fertilization success are reported for the open-coast macrophyte Fucus distichus L. (formerly Fucus distichus ssp. distichus), which is restricted to tide pools in the upper intertidal zone. The release and settlement of eggs and zygotes of E distichus occurred during daytime low tide periods (DLT), largely on days when the low tide fell between 10:OO and 14:OO h EST; very few gametes were released when high tides fell during the same time interval. Gamete release during nighttime low tides was very low. During the DLT series, gametes were released in all pools and this was better correlated with the time of day than with time of low tide per se.The timing of fertilization showed considerable variation both within and between pools during a single DLT. No relationship between either pool temperature or osmolality and gamete release was evident, and only small episodes of gamete release coincided with the times of full or new moons. The restriction of gamete release to periods of very low water motion, when tide pools are ~solated by the low tide, prevents gamete dilution by water exchange and turbulent flows, and results in external fertilization success between 78 and loo'%) with low levels of polyspermy ( l to 5%). Dispersal of zygotes among tide pools may be facilitated by the low winter temperatures during reproduction, which retard adhesive production and zygote attachment. Our results demonstrate that intertidal organisms, living in habitats characterized by periodic, turbulent flow regimes, Inay achieve high levels of fertilization success by releasing gametes under optimal hydrodynamic conditions for sperm-egg encounters.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproductive ecology, of Fucus distichus (Phaeophyceae):an intertidal alga with successful external fertilization

Ga¹,

Sh²

1996

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

110

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“…The difference of amino acids in binding domains of these lectins may explain the difference of sugar binding specificity and hemagglutinating activity between BPL-3 and other H type lectins (Han et al 2011). Accumulating evidences show that algal lectins are involved in many biological processes, including wound response and sexual reproduction (Maier and Müller 1986, Kim et al 1995, Ross et al 2005, Yoon et al 2008. However, the evolutionary origin of algal lectins is still in question.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular characterization of a lectin, BPL-4, from the marine green alga Bryopsis plumosa (Chlorophyta)

Han¹,

Yoon²,

Jung³

et al. 2012

ALGAE

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A novel lectin specific to N-acetyl-D-galactosamine as well as N-acetyl-D-glucosamine was isolated from Bryopsis plumosa and named as BPL-4. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophorese (SDS-PAGE) and matrix-assisted laser desorption / ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry data showed that this lectin was a monomeric protein with molecular weight 12.9 kDa. The N-terminal amino acid sequences of the lectin were determined by Edman degradation and the full cDNA sequence encoding this lectin was obtained using the degenerate primers designed from the amino acid sequence. The size of the cDNA was 414 bp containing single open reading frame (ORF) encoding the lectin precursor. The homology analysis showed that this lectin might belong to H lectin group. BPL-4 showed high sequence similarity (60.6%) to BPL-3, which is a previously reported lectin from the same species. The comparative analysis on the lectin's primary structure showed two conserved domains including one possible active domain of H lectin group.Key Words: active domain; BPL-4; Bryopsis plumosa; lectin; N-acetyl-D-galactosamine INTRODUCTIONLectins have the capacity to serve as recognition molecules between cells or organisms because of their noncatalytic sugar binding properties (Sharon 2008). Lectins are proteins that bind reversibly to carbohydrates, agglutinate cells, or precipitate polysaccharides and glycoproteins (Goldstein et al. 1980). Carbohydrate-binding properties of lectins have been applied in the fields of immunology, cell biology, cancer research, and genetic engineering (e.g., Sharon and Lis 2004).Recently, the medical use of lectins has been studied extensively and some lectins exhibiting high anti-HIV (Sato et al. 2007) and antibiotic activities (Liao et al. 2003) were isolated. The use of lectins as pesticide agents (Wellman-Labadie et al. 2008) and potential drug delivery systems were also explored (e.g., Jung et al. 2010). Lectinbased cell-cell recognition systems have been proposed in many algal groups and in some cases the corresponding lectins have been isolated. However, the number of characterized lectins is still considered too small (Yoon et al. 2008, Han et al. 2011.Marine green alga Bryopsis plumosa (Hudson) Agardh possesses unique ability to regenerate new functional cells from small droplets of protoplasm extruded in seawater (Kim et al. 2001). When protoplasm is released in the seawater, the organelles aggregate in vitro and form protoplasts. Then, the protoplasts develop into individual 56Dried proteins were dissolved in 150 μL of rehydration buffer (7 M urea, 2 M thio-urea, 4% CHAPS, 2% ampholyte of pH 4-10) and centrifuged at 12,000 g for 15 min to remove insoluble materials. IPG dry strip (pH 4-10, 7 cm; Bio-Rad, Bedford, CA, USA) was rehydrated with 125 μL of sample in rehydration buffer for overnight at 20°C. Isoelectric focusing (IEF) was performed at 20°C using a PROTEAN IEF Cell (Bio-Rad). The voltage was linearly increased from 250 to 4,000 V during 2 h, followed by constant 4,000...

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“…Chemoattractant molecules for sperm in plants are low molecular weight organic compounds such as the bimalate ions in the bracken fern (Brokaw 1957(Brokaw , 1958 and unsaturated cyclic or linear hydrocarbons, such as ectocarpene, in the brown algae (Maier and Müller 1986 ). In the aquatic fungus A. macrogynus , the female gametes release a sesquiterpene "sirenin" as a attractant for male gametes (Machlis 1973 ), and interestingly, a different compound called "parisin" released by the male gametes is able to attract fl agellated female gametes of the same species (Pommerville and Olson 1987 ).…”

Section: Chemical Nature Of Sperm Chemoattractantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Chemotactic behavior of male gametes toward the ovule was fi rst described in Kingdom Plantae, bracken fern (Pfeffer 1884 ). Brown algae have also developed chemoattractants for male gametes, known as sexual pheromones (Maier and Müller 1986 ). In fl owering plants, peptidic factors called LURE s attract the pollen tube toward the ovules, resulting in guiding the sperm cell to the ovule (Okuda et al 2009 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sperm Chemotaxis: The First Authentication Events Between Conspecific Gametes Before Fertilization

Yoshida¹

2014

Sexual Reproduction in Animals and Plants

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Sperm chemotaxis toward eggs before fertilization has been observed in many living organisms. Sperm chemotaxis is the fi rst communication or signaling event between male and female gametes in the process of fertilization, and speciesspecifi c events occur in many cases. Thus, sperm chemotaxis may act as a safety process for authenticating that fertilization occurs between conspecifi c egg and sperm and helps to prevent crossbreeding. Here, we introduce mechanisms of sperm chemotaxis, focusing on cross-talk between gametes and species specifi city. Furthermore, we discuss the interactions between sperm-activating and spermattracting factors (SAAFs) in the ascidian species and that SAAF receptors on sperm cells are not all-or-none responses. The SAAF receptors may accept SAAFs of related species (closely related molecules), with different affi nities.

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Sexual Pheromones in Algae

Cited by 196 publications

References 84 publications

Reproductive ecology, of Fucus distichus (Phaeophyceae):an intertidal alga with successful external fertilization

Reproductive ecology, of Fucus distichus (Phaeophyceae):an intertidal alga with successful external fertilization

Molecular characterization of a lectin, BPL-4, from the marine green alga Bryopsis plumosa (Chlorophyta)

Sperm Chemotaxis: The First Authentication Events Between Conspecific Gametes Before Fertilization

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