What Are Slime Moulds |
Introduction ![]() ![]() Below is detailed a typical life cycle, but not all slime moulds will follow this exactly. 1 - Once a spore is released from the fruiting body it's dispersed, either by insects, animals, and rain or air movement. On landing on a suitable location with appropriate moisture and temperature, one to four protoplasts are germinated 2 - The protoplasts once released from the spore's wall through either a pore or fissure will be either a flagellated swarm cell if conditions are wet, or a non flagellated myxamoebae cell in dryer conditions. 3 - If conditions for growth are not suitable, the cells can become microcysts to survive long periods of time. 4 - A diploid zygote is formed when two compatible myxamoebae or swarm cells fuse. This is known as plasmogamy and karyogamy. 5 - After a time of feeding and growing, the zygote develops into a single celled multinucleate structure known as a plasmodium. 6 - If environmental conditions are not suitable, then the plasmodium can change into another dormant state known as the sclerotium. 7 - When the conditions are right, the mature plasmodium produces one to many fruiting bodies containing spores depending on species. ![]()
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![]() Unknown Plasmodium ![]() Unknown Fruiting bodies ![]() Spring Tail's ![]() Unknown Plasmodium Plasmodium streaming ![]() Unknown Plasmodium ![]() Small Beetle. There are a number of beetles found in association with slime moulds. ![]() |
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