Tryptophol, a plant auxin isolated from the marine sponge Ircinia spinulosa.

Tryptophol [2-(3-indolyl)-ethanol], a well-known constituent of terrestrial plants and microorganisms, has so far been isolated from tryptophan fermentations, plant seedlings, Aspergillus niger, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Ceratocystis spp., and Rhizobium spp. (Buckingham, 1994). We have now isolated tryptophol from the marine sponge Ircinia spinulosa collected from the Aegean Sea. In addition to terrestrial sources, tryptophol has been isolated as a plant auxin from the culture media of the fungi Balansia epichloe (Clavicipitae) (Porter et al., 1985) and Dreschslera nodulosum (Sugawara and Strobel, 1987).