GMU:Habitats SS18/Physarum Polycephalum: Difference between revisions

GMU:Habitats SS18/Physarum Polycephalum (view source)

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 "Physarum polycephalum, literally the "many-headed slime", is a slime mold that inhabits shady, cool, moist areas, such as decaying leaves and logs. Like slime molds in general, it is sensitive to light; in particular, light can repel the slime mold and be a factor in triggering spore growth."(wikipedia b) It feeds on bacteria, spores and other microbial creatures.
+===chemotaxis===
+"..In the plasmodial phase of its life cycle consists of a large single celled mass of yellow plasmodium. The organism extends protoplasmic tubes which grow towards sources of food; flowing through these tubes is a cytoplasm, which oscillates back and forth by a process of protoplasmic streaming which forces the cytoplasm in the direction in which the organism is growing [1]. The movement and growth of P. polycephalum is predominantly controlled by favourable conditions, such as an abundance of food, warm temperature, darkness and moisture. It has been well documented that various substances trigger a chemotactic response in P. polycephalum, various carbohydrates such as glucose and maltose initiate positive chemotaxis while sucrose shows marginal but consistent negative chemotaxis [2, 3, 4, 5]." (Whiting 2013)
 ===life cycle===