Timelapse footage of a slime mould moving across moist bark. Despite its name, a slime mould is not a fungus, instead being an amoeba-like protozoan. When food is abundant it exists as single cells like other amoebae, but when food is scarce the cells aggregate and form a large macroscopic body called a plasmodium, which contains many nuclei. This plasmodium is active, following chemical cues to find the bacteria and other micro-organisms on which it feeds. When it has exhausted its food supply it forms its reproductive stage, hardening into spore-bearing sporangia, which resemble fungi or moulds. The spores are dispersed by wind or insects, and can remain dormant for many years before developing into new single-celled amoeba. See clip K004 7122 for the slime mould forming sporangia. | |
Lizenzart: | Lizenzpflichtig |
Credit: | Science Photo Library / Chee, Francis |
Modell-Rechte: | nicht erforderlich |
Länge: | 36 Sekunden |
Seitenverhältnis: | 16:9 |
Restrictions: | - |