Water molds of the genus Phytophthora include many plant pathogens responsible for epidemics such as potato blight and sudden oak death, causing global economic damages. Sexual reproduction is of biological importance in Phytophthora and has been believed to be stimulated by unknown endogenous factors named a hormones. We describe here the chemical characterization of a Phytophthora mating hormone, a1, which was obtained from approximately 2 tons of culture fluid of one mating type of a species and which induced sexual spores on the counter-mating type at a nanogram level.