Kirk D L, Kirk M M
Science. 1986 Jan 3;231(4733):51-4. doi: 10.1126/science.3941891.
In the green alga Volvox carteri, heat shock had an unusual and adaptive effect mediated by induced production of a well-defined effector molecule. Females of this species normally reproduce asexually in the absence of a potent sexual inducer produced by mature sexual males, but they generated egg-bearing sexual daughters after a brief exposure to elevated temperatures. This response involved an "autoinduction" of sexuality, in which heat-shocked somatic cells made and released the sexual inducer, which then redirected development of the reproductive cells. Males, including a sterile mutant incapable of producing inducer in the usual manner, also produced the inducer in response to heat shock. The phenomenon probably is of significance in the wild, where Volvox reproduces asexually in temporary ponds in spring but becomes sexual and produces dormant, overwintering zygotes before the ponds dry up in the summer heat.
在绿藻团藻中，热休克通过诱导产生一种明确的效应分子介导了一种不寻常的适应性效应。该物种的雌性通常在没有成熟雄性产生的强效性诱导物的情况下进行无性繁殖，但在短暂暴露于高温后，它们产生了携带卵子的有性后代。这种反应涉及性别的“自诱导”，即热休克的体细胞产生并释放性诱导物，然后该诱导物重新引导生殖细胞的发育。雄性，包括一个不能以正常方式产生诱导物的不育突变体，也会在热休克后产生诱导物。这种现象在野外可能具有重要意义，在野外，团藻在春季的临时池塘中进行无性繁殖，但在夏季高温导致池塘干涸之前，会进行有性生殖并产生休眠的越冬合子。
