Each species of slime mold has its own specific chemical messenger, which are collectively referred to as acrasins.[1] These chemicals signal that many individual cells aggregate to form a single large cell or plasmodium.[1] One of the earliest acrasins to be identified was cyclic AMP, found in the species Dictyostelium discoideum by Brian Shaffer,[2] which exhibits a complex swirling-pulsating spiral pattern when forming a pseudoplasmodium.[3]
The term acrasin was descriptively named after Acrasia from Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queene,[4] who seduced men against their will and then transformed them into beasts. Acrasia is itself a play on the Greek akrasia that describes loss of free will.
- ^ King, Robert C. (2013). A dictionary of genetics. Mulligan, Pamela Khipple, 1953-, Stansfield, William D., 1930- (8th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-937686-5. OCLC 871046520.