  In this work we investigate symmetry breaking in the presence of a turbulent
environment. The transition from a symmetric state to a symmetry-breaking state
is demonstrated using two examples: (i) the transition of a two-dimensional
flow to a three dimensional flow as the fluid layer thickness is varied and
(ii) the dynamo instability in a thin layer flow as the magnetic Reynolds
number is varied. We show that these examples have similar critical exponents
that differ from the mean-field predictions. The critical behavior can be
related to the multiplicative nature of the fluctuations and can be predicted
in certain limits using results from the statistical properties of random
interfaces. Our results indicate the possibility of existence of a new class of
out-of-equilibrium phase transition controlled by the multiplicative noise.
