L-Glutamic acid as a mediator of sexual morphogenesis in Volvox capensis

In Volvox capensis the development of sexual individuals is in response to low concentrations (68 nM) of L-glutamic acid rather than to such species-specific glycoproteins as have been isolated in Volvox carteri or are believed to exist in a number of other species. V. capensis grows equally as well in light and in darkness in a medium supplemented with sodium acetate; however, L-glutamic acid is active as an inducer of the sexual form only in populations grown in the light. The site of action of L-glutamic acid and its biochemical role in the sexual response are unknown. Attempts to induce the sexual response by using the other L-amino acids, various analogs of glutamic acid, compounds of similar structure (e.g., gamma-aminobutyric acid), and intermediates of biochemical pathways known to involve L-glutamic acid (e.g., alpha-ketoglutarate or pyroglutamic acid) have been unsuccessful. L-Glutamic acid is produced by V. capensis as a natural product of the digestion of the glycoproteinaceous parental matrix at the time young spheroids escape. As a population increases, so does the level of L-glutamic acid produced at each succeeding generation until the threshold of sensitivity is reached and the induction of sexual forms is effected. This serves as a mechanism for ensuring the production of sexual spheroids and their zygotes, the only phase in the life cycle resistant to drying. Thus, Volvox is especially adapted to an existence in ephemeral pools of water resulting from seasonal rains.