Answer to Question #96511 in Microbiology for Boyi Ebi-ere

Question

Adaptive features of slime mould

Answer 1

Slime molds feed on microorganism that live in any type of dead plant material. They are single celled microscopic sacs that move around by altering their shape. Slime molds can exist as free-floating single cells but when two or more meet, they dissolve the cell membrane which separate each individual and fuse together in one membrane. When the environment turns into a stressful place to be, the slime has some adaptations to deal with this environments. One, the slime mold can seek light and produce fruiting bodies full of spores. Secondly, it can form a hard sclerotium which is like a fruiting body only that it is a hard cyst full of spores which can remain dormant for many years.