A chemical substance released by slime mold cells that causes other cells to aggregate together, enabling collective movement and behavior.
From Acrasi- (slime mold genus) plus the chemical suffix -in. Discovered in the 1960s, this chemical messenger is one of biology's first identified quorum-sensing compounds.
Acrasin was the first chemical 'conversation' discovered between single-celled organisms—slime mold cells emit this hormone-like molecule to call their neighbors to aggregate, proving that single-cell organisms can communicate chemically like our cells do.
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