Slime mould

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{{Taxobox | color = lightgrey | name = Slime moulds | image = Slime_mold.jpg | image_width = 220px | image_caption = Aethalium of a slime mould (possibly Fuligo) | regnum = Protista | phylum = Amoebozoa | classis = Mycetozoa | subdivision_ranks = Typical orders | subdivision = Protostelia
   Protosteliida
Myxogastria
   Liceida
   Echinosteliida
   Trichiida
   Stemonitida
   Physarida
Dictyostelia
   Dictyosteliida
}} Slime moulds (or Slime molds in American English) are peculiar protists that normally take the form of amoebae, but under certain conditions develop fruiting bodies that release spores, superficially similar to the sporangia of fungi. They should not be confused with true moulds, which are actually fungi. Although cosmopolitan in distribution, they are usually small and rarely noticed. There are several different groups.

Most notable are the plasmodial slime moulds or myxogastrids (also known as acellular or true slime moulds), where the feeding stage takes the form of a giant amoeba with thousands of nuclei, called a plasmodium. It is not divided by cell membranes, but rather is enclosed by a single outer one, and is thus like a single large cell. Most are smaller than a few centimetres, but the very largest reach areas of up to two square metres, making them the largest undivided cells known. Many have bright colours such as yellow, brown, and white. Under dry conditions they may form resting structures called sclerotia. Once produced, spores release biflagellate or amoeboid gametes, which fuse pairwise to produce new plasmodia.

Image:Haeckel Mycetozoa.jpg The cellular slime moulds or dictyostelids take the form of individual amoebae, but under stress aggregate to form a multicellular assembly called a pseudoplasmodium or slug. This migrates to a new location, then forms into a fruiting body, usually with a stalk formed from dead amoebae. Spores release new amoebae. Similar life-cycles are found among the acrasids, now known to be an unrelated group, and among the myxobacteria.

There are also several uninucleate amoebae, called protostelids, that secrete stalks and develop into spores individually. It now appears that they gave rise to both the myxogastrids and dictyostelids, although they were considered unrelated based on rRNA. Comparison of protein genes support a close relationship between the three groups and place them among the Amoebozoa.

Dictyostelids are used as examples of cellular communication and differentiation, and may provide insights into how multicellular organisms develop. Plasmodia are useful for studying cytoplasmic streaming. It has been observed that they can find their way through mazes by spreading out and choosing the shortest path, an interesting example of information processing without a nervous system.

Image:Slime Mold Olympic National Park North Fork Sol Duc.jpg

Slime moulds were originally considered fungi by mycologists and amoebae by zoologists, respectively classified as Myxomycetes (slime fungi) or Mycetozoa (fungus animals). Both names are still used among different groups of specialists. Various other protists that form cellular aggregates such as acrasids, Labyrinthulomycetes, and plasmodiophorids are traditionally included, but the formal taxon is now often restricted to the true plasmodial slime moulds and their relatives.

Slime moulds generally move only about 1 millimetre per hour, although some can reach 2 centimetres per minute. They engulf their food, which can include bacteria, fungi, and decaying organic matter, and can eject inedible material.

In 2006, researchers at the University of Southampton and the University of Kobe reported that they had built a six-legged robot whose movement was remotely controlled by a Physarum slime mould. The mould directed the robot into a dark corner most similar to its natural habitat.

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Popular culture

Although usually overlooked, slime moulds have occasionally found their way into art and literature. In the early 16th century the Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch depicted an estimated 22 species in The Garden of Earthly Delights. More recently slimes were included in the Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual and so are now staple in many fantasy role-playing games and computer games, as well as webcomics such as GPF-Comics. In the popular RPG NetHack, slime moulds are a sought-after and delicious food item. Whether or not actual slime moulds are delicious, or even edible, is unclear.