Photoreceptor pigment that induces differentiation in the slime mold Physarum polycephalum.
An extract of small molecules (molecular weight less than 500) of the slime mold Physarum polycephalum undergoes a shift in ultraviolet-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 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. Thin-layer chromatography resolves the slime mold extract into four major visible fractions. One of these has high sporulation-inducing activity after illumination in vitro.
D002454:Cell Differentiation; D008027:Light; D008970:Molecular Weight; D009235:Myxomycetes / Q000166:cytology*; D010786:Photoreceptor Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D010804:Physarum / Q000032:analysis / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D010860:Pigments, Biological / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013057:Spectrum Analysis; D013172:Spores, Fungal
D010860:Pigments, Biological