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Photoperiodism and effects of indoleamines in a unicellular alga, Gonyaulax polyedra.
- Source :
-
Science (New York, N.Y.) [Science] 1991 Aug 16; Vol. 253 (5021), pp. 795-7. - Publication Year :
- 1991
-
Abstract
- Mediation of photoperiodic effects by indoleamines, especially melatonin, is known in higher vertebrates. A similar mechanism may occur in a unicellular alga, the dinoflagellate Gonyaulax polyedra. This organism entered the dormant stage of a cyst upon short-day treatment at lowered temperatures. Interruption of darkness by 2 hours of light prevented cyst formation, even when the overall duration of light was the same as in cyst-inducing short days. When given in a noninducing photoperiod, melatonin and an analog, 5-methoxytryptamine, substances that had previously been shown to occur in Gonyaulax, provoked cyst formation. Methoxylated indoleamines may play a role as mediators of darkness in this unicellular, in a similar way as in vertebrates, suggesting a common biochemical basis of photoperiodism.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 0036-8075
- Volume :
- 253
- Issue :
- 5021
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Science (New York, N.Y.)
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 1876838
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1876838