Photoreceptor pigment that induces differentiation in the slime mold Physarum polycephalum.

Abstract

An extract of small molecules (MW < 500) of the slime mold P. polycephalum undergoes a shift in UV-visible absorption spectrum upon illumination. This illumination also confers on the extract the ability to induce sporulation when injected into a starved, unilluminated slime mold. The spectral shift and the appearance of the sporulation-inducing activity both occur regardless of whether the illumination is carried out on an intact slime mold or on the plasmodium-free extract itself. TLC resolves the slime mold extract into 4 major visible fractions. One of these has high sporulation-inducing activity after illumination in vitro.