scientists set out oats in a pattern that
matched the cities and towns around
Tokyo, then they set their slime mould
loose on it. In just a day the slime had
found all the oat flakes and connected
them with a network of veins. When
they compared the network to a map of
the railway lines around Tokyo, they
found the slime matched them almost
perfectly – and where it didn’t, the slime
mould had found a much better route.
Not bad for a bag of yellow goo!
Who are
you calling
goo?
LIFE CYCLE
Slime moulds have an unusual life cycle.
They hatch from spores into a
microscopic cell that looks just like an
amoeba. These amoebae swim around
feeding off bacteria, and reproduce by
dividing. When two of them meet they
can join together and become the adult
giant cell (plasmodium). When the
plasmodium is big enough it grows tiny
mushroom-shaped bits packed with
spores, these burst open and the spores
are spread by the wind to new areas for
the slime mould to colonise.
SLIME MOULDS IN THE
WORLD
There are around 1,000 species of slime
mould found all over the world, most
live on damp ground under trees and
moss, and climb upwards on tree trunks
and branches when they want to make
spores. A few species live underwater
and there are even a few that live in
snow in the Arctic. The species that most
scientists keep is the bright yellow
Physarum polycephalum; it’s quite happy
living on a bit of blotting paper and
being fed on oats. If Physarum runs
short of water it can dry out into a
dormant lump called a sclerotium that
can wait for years before being revived
– very handy for scientists wanting to
post a bit to friends or go on holiday for
a couple of weeks!
1
2
A FUSSY EATER?
When a slime mould was given a choice
of oats covered in paprika, black pepper,
chilli pepper or turmeric, the mould
chose the paprika and stayed well away
from the other choices on the menu!
This showed that slime moulds have the
ability of chemotaxis – meaning they
are attracted to, or repelled by, different
chemicals they sense in their
environment. Who knew a slime mould
could have such a sensitive palate?!
FUN FACT TRUMPET
In some areas of South
America, people gather
up slime moulds and
cook them like
scrambled eggs!
3
Thanks to Ian Hands-Portman from
the University of Warwick for sharing
all his slime mould knowledge with
us and even sending us some in the
post. I wonder, if Ian had left a trail of
oats from Warwick to Eastbourne,
would Slimy McMouldypants have
made his own way here?
4
7