Environmental factors inducing the transformation of polyp into medusae in Aurelia aurita (Scyphozoa)

Abstract

The transformation of polyp into medusa is one of the most interesting processes in the life cycle of cnidarians. In the polyps of the class Scyphozoa this transformation occurs in the form of strobilation, which is the transverse fission of polyps with the formation of discoidal ephyrae. At present, the endogenous regulation of strobilation in one of scyphozoans, Aurelia aurita, is being investigated by the methods of molecular biology (Fuchs et al., 2014). However, it is still unclear which key environmental factors induce this process. The main purposes of this review are to summarize the literature data on the conditions in which strobilation in A. aurita occurs in nature and in the laboratory and to try to identify the environmental factors that are most likely to play a signaling role in strobilation.