When the Going Gets Tough, Slime Molds Start Synthesizing

When the food supply dries up, solitary Dictyostelium discoideum cells congregate and fuse into a spore-producing tower. A newly discovered hybrid enzyme called Steely2 (shown in cartoon form) forges the basic structure of the chemical signal (DIF-1, shown here as a stick model) that orchestrates this vital step in the life cycle of Dictyostelium: the transformation of omnipotent cells into dedicated spore or stalk cells. (Image by Mike Austin using a photo by Rob Kay)