This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Plasmodial slime is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
| Plasmodial Slime Molds | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Diderma testaceum
|
||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||
|
||||||
| Classes | ||||||
|
Ceratiomyxomycetes |
Myxomycota is a phylum of protists phylogenetically related to the group of the Amoebozoa. The latin name comes from the Greek Myxo, that means "slime", and mycota, that means fungus. They are colloquially known as plasmodial or acellular slime molds or within the scientific community as myxomycetes, however the latter term does not refer to a taxonomic class. Some would also consider Myxomycota as a higher systematic group (i.e. kingdom) unto itself, with an unsettled phylogeny because of conflicting molecular and developmental data. The relations between lower systematic groups (in this case orders) are unclear yet 1. These heterotrophic organisms are predators of microbial food webs, and so they are able to engulf and digest bacteria, yeast, fungal spores, and decaying matter 2
Life Cycle
When a Myxomycete spore germinates, it cracks, releasing an amoeboid cell called a myxamoeba. Depending upon environmental conditions, the myxamoeba can produce flagella in which case is known as a swarm cell. This process is reversible so the flagellum can be retracted and the myxamoeba is established again. The latter ingests food via phagocytosis and divides as it eats. When two myxamoeba of different mating strains (of different populations) find each other, they will merge, forming a zygote. The zygote itself will not divide, but rather it will grow as its nucleus divides, forming a large, multinucleate cell called a plasmodium. The plasmodium will continue to consume organic matter through phagocytosis. After some time, for unknown causes, the plasmodium will convert into a spore-bearing structure called a fruiting body. The four major types of fruiting bodies are the sporangium, the aethalium, the psedoaethalium and the plasmodiocarp. Spores are released from the fruiting body and the life cycle starts over.
See also
References
For more information on this group visit The Eumycetozoan Project Website
- www.cit.gu.edu.au/~sosic/reports/CIT-95-14.ps.Z
- http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/wong/Bot201/Myxomycota/Myxomycota.htm
 |
This protist-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 17 November 2008, at 22:59.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Plasmodial slime".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.