Production of DL-DOPA from acellular slime-mould Stemonitis herbatica

3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA) is a neurotransmitter precursor and hence has wide therapeutic applications. Our earlier studies have shown that the melanin in sporangia of the myxomycete species Stemonitis herbatica is DOPA melanin, and that?it?is?possible to extract the precursor DL-DOPA from differentiating plasmodia. The production of DL-DOPA from this species might be commercially viable.