近日，法国国家科学研究中心M. Valero及其研究小组发现海藻中动物介导的受精。这一研究成果于2022年7月28日发表在国际学术期刊《科学》上。

通过对等足类动物Idotea balthica和红藻Gracilaria gracilis的实验，研究人员证明了生物的相互作用通过动物在其身体上运输精子，极大地提高了红藻的受精成功率。这一发现表明，动物介导的受精作用可能是在陆地和海洋环境中独立进化的，并提出了在植物上岸之前在海洋中出现的可能性。

据悉，长期以来，人们一直认为海洋中不存在动物介导的授粉，但最近在海草中得到了反驳，促使人们对其他海洋门类进行调查。这在红藻中尤其重要，因为在红藻中，雌性配子不会被释放，而雄性配子没有鞭毛。

附：英文原文

Title: Pollinators of the sea: A discovery of animal-mediated fertilization in seaweed

Author: E. Lavaut, M.-L. Guillemin, S. Colin, A. Faure, J. Coudret, C. Destombe, M. Valero

Issue&Volume: 2022-07-29

Abstract: The long-held belief that animal-mediated pollination is absent in the sea has recently been contradicted in seagrasses, motivating investigations of other marine phyla. This is particularly relevant in red algae, in which female gametes are not liberated and male gametes are not flagellated. Using experiments with the isopod Idotea balthica and the red alga Gracilaria gracilis, we demonstrate that biotic interactions dramatically increase the fertilization success of the alga through animal transport of spermatia on their body. This discovery suggests that animal-mediated fertilization could have evolved independently in terrestrial and marine environments and raises the possibility of its emergence in the sea before plants moved ashore.

DOI: abo6661

Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abo6661