Temporal morphology and cap formation in Acetabularia--II. Effects of morphactin and auxin

In order to support the hypothesis that circadian rhythms are implicated in cap formation, experiments were undertaken on the possible time-dependency of the effects of (a) a competitive inhibitor of auxins, morphactin and (b) of auxin (IAA). It was found that: (i) the inhibitory effect of morphactin varies dramatically with the time at which the several weeks' treatment was first begun; (ii) the maximum inhibition varies with development and decreases with time; (iii) IAA accelerates cap formation when the algae are submitted to IAA during the exponential growth phase; the effect is time dependent and decreases with time; (iv) IAA first applied on smaller algae has a transient inhibitory effect which is time dependent; (v) anucleate fragments also respond differentially to an IAA treatment begun at several times in the 24-hr cycle, most clearly when newly formed mRNA have been accumulated and (vi) the effect of iAA is not cumulative with that of a LD shift; that of morphactin is not, or only slightly, improved by a LD shift.