Cellular slime molds, or dictyostelids, were originally considered to be 

fungi. These microscopic, multicellular organisms

are easily mistaken for some of the microfungi that commonly occur as contaminants in laboratory cultures. However,
cellular slime molds are more closely related to the protozoans than to fungi.

Although once thought to be fungi, the protists of the phylum Dictyosteliomycota actually have more in common with the
paramecium or amoeba that can be observed in a drop of pond water when viewed under the microscope than they do
with mushrooms and toadstools.

Cellular slime molds are essentially microscopic throughout their entire life cycle, and only rarely can they be observed
directly in nature, as is the case for the plasmodial slime molds. Cellular slime molds must therefore be grown under
controlled laboratory conditions in order to be studied.

Life Cycle

Since their discovery in the late nineteenth century, cellular slime molds have intrigued biologists. Their life cycle exhibits
a curious alternative to the way in which most other creatures on earth grow, develop, and become multicellular, with
different specialized tissues produced as a result of the process.

Most plants and animals begin life as a single cell (called a zygote) that is the product of the fusion of an egg cell and
sperm cell. Shortly after the two cells fuse (through a process termed fertilization), the zygote divides into two cells that
stick together.

These cells soon divide again to produce a cluster of four cells that in turn divide, and so on. Within hours or days
(depending upon the particular plant or animal), clusters of dozens to thousands of cells form an embryo. Specialized cells
begin to take form, and the basic shape of the body of the organism begins to become apparent.
Cellular slimemolds approach reproduction differently. Like fungi and plasmodial slime molds, they produce spores as
reproductive structures. When a spore germinates (no fusion of cells is required), it releases a single amoeboid cell that
begins to engulf and digest bacteria in soil and decaying plant debris, the usual habitats for cellular slime molds.

When the amoeboid cell divides, the two cells produced separate and become completely independent of each other, with
each continuing to feed and undergo additional divisions for a number of hours or days. Only after the
growing population of amoeboid cells depletes the local supply of bacteria is there any indication that a multicellular
structure will be produced.

In response to the production of chemical attractants, thousands of amoeboid cells that have been operating as individual
single-celled organisms begin tomove, either singly or in streaming masses, to form multicellular clumps, or aggregations.

Shortly thereafter, one or more cigar-shaped structures called pseudoplasmodia emerge from each aggregation.
Apseudoplasmodiumis a unifiedcollection of thousands of what had once been separate, independent amoeboid cells.The
cells remain distinct in the pseudoplasmodium but no longer act independently.

Instead, they cooperate as parts of a multicellular entity. Remarkably, when amoeboid cells of two or more different
species of cellular slimemolds are grown together, the amoeboid cells of the different species can recognize each other,
so that the cells that form any one aggregation are all of a single species rather than a mixture.

Immediately, or perhaps after the entire structure has migrated a short distance toward a light source, cells of the
pseudoplasmodium begin to display different patterns of specialization. Cells that happen to have been positioned near
the anterior end of the moving “cigar” begin to secrete a wall consisting of cellulose.

These cells bind together to form a slender stalk that grows upward from the surface of the substrate upon which the
pseudoplasmodium occurs. Other cells, those that happened to have been nearer the posterior end of the
pseudoplasmodium, are liftedoff the surface on the end of the extending stalk.

These cells begin to become encapsulated and specialized as spores. Only the latter live on and produce another
generation of amoeboid cells to feed on soil bacteria. The cells that produced the stalk in order to elevate the spore
cluster above the substrate eventually die, dry up, and decay.

Reproduction

It appears that cellular slime molds reproduce asexuallymost of the time, at least under laboratory conditions. All of the
cells that originate from the same spore are basically genetically identical to one another and collectively represent a
genetic clone.

As is the case for asexual reproduction in other lifeforms, finding a “mate” is not necessary to perpetuate the species. If
amoeboid cells are equipped with the genetic characteristics necessary to survive long enough to produce spores, the
same gene combinations will be passed faithfully to all offspring, thus providing the same qualities for survival.

However, a method of sexual reproduction, with its potential of introducing genetic variability, also seems to exist in
cellular slime molds. Occasionally in laboratory cultures, a number of large, thick walled cells are found that are quite
different from spores or encysted amoeboid cells.

These giant cells are called macrocysts. Macrocysts appear to form when several amoeboid cells (sometimes described
as being of compatible “mating types”) fuse together and rearrange their genetic libraries and those of other amoeboid
cells that may be engulfed.

When macrocysts germinate, the amoeboid cells that emerge seem to have different combinations of genetic information
than the cells that initially formed the macrocysts. This mixing up of genetic information, along with the genetic changes
resulting from mutations, provides cellular slime molds with an ability to cope with changing environments.

Distribution and Ecology

Most of what is known about cellular slime molds has been acquired from studying these organisms in laboratory culture.
What about the biology of “wild” slimemolds in nature? In natural ecosystems, it is quite likely that cellular slime molds
play a significant role in controlling the size of bacterial populations in soil and decaying litter.

Nutrients that are taken up from decaying plants and animals by bacteria are transferred to cellular slime cells when the
latter feed upon these bacteria. The cellular slime molds, in turn, become food for soil protozoans, nematode worms,
microscopic arthropods such as mites, and other small invertebrate animals. Because of this, cellular slime molds play an
essential role in patterns of energy flow and nutrient cycles within terrestrial ecosystems.

There are about seventy-five described species of cellular slime molds. These have been assigned to one of three
genera: Dictyostelium, Polysphondylium, and Acytostelium. Some species of cellular slime molds have been found in
almost all parts of the world. Two good examples are Dictyostelium mucoroides and Polysphondylium pallidum.

Numbers of species of cellular slime molds appear to be highest in the American tropics, which suggests that this region
represents a center of evolutionary diversification of the group. More than thirty-five different species have been found in
the small area around the Mayan ruins at Tikal in Guatemala. In general, numbers of species of cellular slime molds
decrease with increasing elevation and with increasing latitude.

Some species have restricted habitat associations. One species (Dictyostelium caveatum) has been found only in a single
cave systemin Arkansas. Another species (Dictyostelium rosarium), known from a number of localities worldwide but
rarely above ground, also seems to have an affinity for the type of conditions found in caves. Of the thirty-five species that
occur at Tikal, many appear to be restricted to tropical or subtropical locations.

Dictyostelium discoideum is the most intensively studied cellular slime mold and the one most widely used in research on
developmental biology and genetics. Any search for information about cellular slime molds would probably turn up
numerous references to this particular form.

Dispersal of Spores

Unlike most spore-producing organisms (including plasmodial slime molds), cellular slime molds produce spores that do
not seem to be carried appreciable distances by wind. Instead, dispersal of cellular slime mold spores seems to depend
more upon their accidental transport on the body surface or within the digestive tract of some animal.

Viable spores of cellular slime molds have been recovered from the droppings of a number of animals, including rodents,
amphibians, bats, and even migratory birds that travel great distances between winter and summer homes. In tropical
forests, many living plants and considerable amounts of organic material are found high above the ground in the forest
canopy.

Cellular slime molds have been isolated from the mass of organic material (literally a “canopy soil”) found at the bases of
epiphytic plants growing on the trunks and branches of trees in these forests. It seems likely that they are introduced to
such habitats by being carried up from the ground by birds, insects, or other animals that move between the forest floor
and the canopy above it.

Slime mold or slime mould is an informal name given to several kinds of unrelated eukaryotic organisms that
can live freely as single cells, but can aggregate together to form multicellular reproductive structures. Slime molds
were formerly classified as fungi but are no longer considered part of that kingdom.[1] Although not forming a
single monophyletic clade, they are grouped within the paraphyletic group referred to as kingdom Protista.V

Amoebozoa

Figure 1. Amoebae with tubular and lobe-shaped pseudopodia are seen under a microscope. These isolates would be
morphologically classified as amoebozoans.

The amoebozoans characteristically exhibit pseudopodia that extend like tubes or flat lobes, rather
than the hair-like pseudopodia of rhizarian amoeba (Figure 1). The Amoebozoa include several
groups of unicellular amoeba-like organisms that are free-living or parasites.

Slime Molds

A subset of the amoebozoans, the slime molds, has several morphological similarities to fungi that
are thought to be the result of convergent evolution. For instance, during times of stress, some slime
molds develop into spore-generating fruiting bodies, much like fungi.
The slime molds are categorized on the basis of their life cycles into plasmodial or cellular types.
Plasmodial slime molds are composed of large, multinucleate cells and move along surfaces like an
amorphous blob of slime during their feeding stage (Figure 2). Food particles are lifted and engulfed
into the slime mold as it glides along. Upon maturation, the plasmodium takes on a net-like
appearance with the ability to form fruiting bodies, or sporangia, during times of stress. Haploid
spores are produced by meiosis within the sporangia, and spores can be disseminated through the
air or water to potentially land in more favorable environments. If this occurs, the spores germinate to
form ameboid or flagellate haploid cells that can combine with each other and produce a diploid
zygotic slime mold to complete the life cycle.

Figure 2. The life cycle of the plasmodial slime mold is shown. The brightly colored plasmodium in the inset photo is a single-
celled, multinucleate mass. (credit: modification of work by Dr. Jonatha Gott and the Center for RNA Molecular Biology, Case
Western Reserve University)

The cellular slime molds function as independent amoeboid cells when nutrients are abundant (Figure
3). When food is depleted, cellular slime molds pile onto each other into a mass of cells that behaves
as a single unit, called a slug. Some cells in the slug contribute to a 2–3-millimeter stalk, drying up
and dying in the process. Cells atop the stalk form an asexual fruiting body that contains haploid
spores. As with plasmodial slime molds, the spores are disseminated and can germinate if they land
in a moist environment. One representative genus of the cellular slime molds is Dictyostelium, which
commonly exists in the damp soil of forests.

Figure 3. Cellular slime molds may exist as solitary or aggregated amoebas. (credit: modification of work by
“thatredhead4”/Flickr)

Cellular Slime Molds

Cellular slime molds are extraordinary life forms that exhibit features of both fungi and protozoa, although often classed
for convenience with fungi. At one time they were regarded as organisms of ambiguous taxonomic status, but more
recent analysis of DNA sequences has shown that slime molds should be regarded as inhabiting their own separate
kingdom. Their uniqueness lies in their unusual life cycle, which alternates between a feeding stage in which the
organism is essentially unicellular and a reproductive stage in which the organism adopts a multicellular structure. At the
first stage they are free-living, separate amoebae, usually inhabiting the forest floor and ingesting bacteria found in
rotting wood, dung, or damp soil. But their food supplies are relatively easily exhausted since the cells’ movements are
restricted and their food requirements rather large.

When the cells become starved of nutrition, the organism initiates a new genetic program that permits the cells to
eventually find a new, food-rich environment. A At this point, the single-celled amoebae combine together to form what
will eventually become a multicellular creature. B The mechanism by which the individual members become a single
entity is essentially chemical in nature. C At first, a few of the amoebae start to produce periodic chemical pulses that
are detected, amplified, and relayed to the surrounding members, which then move toward the pulse origin. D In time,
these cells form many streams of cells, which then come together to form a single hemispherical mass. This mass sticks
together through the secretion of adhesion molecules

The mass now develops a tip, which elongates into a finger-like structure of about 1 or 2 millimeters in length. This
structure eventually falls over to form a miniature slug, moving as a single entity orienting itself toward light. During this
period the cells within the mass differentiate into two distinct kinds of cell. Some become prestalk cells, which later form
into a vertical stalk, and others form prespore cells, which become the spore head.

As the organism migrates, it leaves behind a track of slime rather like a garden slug. Once a favorable location has been
found with a fresh source of bacteria to feed on, the migration stops and the colony metamorphoses into a fungus-like
organism in a process known as “culmination." The front cells turn into a stalk, and the back cells climb up the Page 1
Нажав на Kate Yakovleva Reading 36 Reading Bank click here to go to the courses home page stalk and form a spherical-
shaped head, known as the sorocarp. This final fruiting body is about 2 millimeters in height. The head develops into
spores, which are dispersed into the environment and form the next generation of amoebae cells. Then the life cycle is
repeated. Usually the stalk disappears once the spores have been released.

The process by which the originally identical cells of the slime mold become transformed into multicellular structures
composed of two different cell types - spore and stalk - is of great interest to developmental biologists since it is
analogous* to an important process found in higher organisms in which organs with highly specialized functions are
formed from unspecialized stem cells. Early experiments showed which parts of the slime mold organism contributed to
the eventual stalk and which parts to the head. Scientists stained the front part of a slug with a red dye and attached it
to the back part of a different slug. The hybrid creature developed as normal. The experimenters then noted that the
stalk of the fruiting body was stained red and that the spore head was unstained. Clearly, the anterior part of the
organism culminated in the stalk and the posterior part in the spore head. Nowadays, experiments using DNA
technology and fluorescent proteins or enzymes to label the prespore and prestalk cells have been undertaken. This
more molecular approach gives more precise results than using staining dyes but has essentially backed up the results of
the earlier dye studies.