Abstract
Trisporic acid, discovered in 1964 as a metabolite that caused enhanced carotene production in Blakeslea trispora , was later shown to be the hormone that brought about zygophore production in Mucor mucedo . This raised the question as to the nature of the substances that were exchanged between (+) and (−) strains of M. mucedo , to initiate sexual activity. In the 1970s the substances were shown to be precursors of trisporic acid that were synthesised by either the (+) or the (−) strain but which could only be metabolized to trisporic acid by the other. The elucidation of the hormonal control of sexual interaction in the Mucorales extended over 60 years and involved mycologists and biochemists from Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, UK and the USA.
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