English

Noun

phycochrome ‎(countable and uncountable, plural phycochromes)

1. (botany) A bluish-green pigment in certain blue-green algae.
   • 1867, The Transactions of the Microscopical Society of London, page 210:

     The purple-red or violet phycochromaceze contain phycochrome, which is composed of chlorophyll and a purple, but generally (not apparently different) blue modification of phycocyan, which easily turns into a verdigris-coloured substance.

   • 2012, T.D. Brock, Thermophilic Microorganisms and Life at High Temperatures, page 49:

     It is quite possible that the writer has reckoned some of the filamentous species of the Schizomycetes under the head of Phormidium tenuissimum, since it is impossible to determine with certainty in all cases whether a filament less than one micromillimeter in thickness, contains phycochrome or not.

   • 2012, O. L. Lange, Physiological Plant Ecology I, page 264:

     Ohad et al. (1980) have recently shown that allophycocyanin has identical photoresponses to the phycochromes, which suggests that allophycocyanin may be the true identity of the phycochromes.