Vitamin E as an extrinsic and intrinsic signal controlling development in the rotifer Asplanchna: uptake, transmission and localization of [3H]α-tocopherol

Abstract

ABSTRACT An increase in the level of vitamin E in the diet of saccate, amictic female Asplanchna modifies the development of their parthenogenetic female embryos developing in utero. The offspring develop prominent outgrowths of the body wall (BWO response), and some mature as mictic females which produce male progeny by haploid parthenogenesis. We have followed the fate of [3H] α-tocopheroI fed to immature females. In each generation, females lose about 50% of their α-tocopherol; the remaining material, which is 76–100 % undegraded, is transmitted almost entirely to their male or female offspring. The α-tocopherol content of a female is proportional to the degree of her BWO response. The results support the hypotheses that vitamin E acts directly on embryos to control development, i.e. that it serves as both an intrinsic and extrinsic control signal.