Rotifer ecology and embryological induction

Abstract

The rotifer Asplanchna releases into its environment a water-soluble, nondialyzable, pronase-sensitive factor which causes uncleaved eggs of another rotifer, Brachionus calyciflorus, to develop into individuals with a pair of long, movable spines which neither their mothers nor the unaffected controls have. These appendages protect the Brachionus from Asplanchna predation.