Question

1. From where do slime molds obtain nutrients necessary for survival (what is their food source)?
2. Breifly describe the process in which amoebae aggregate to form a pseudoplasmodium.
3. What conditions might cause a slime mold to initiate the formation of a fruiting body?
4. What determines the specific mode of zoospore germination?
5. When exploring outdoors, which of the four types of fungi (introduced in class) is one most likely to visually observe?
6. Which of the four types of fungi is one most likely to find growing on old bread?
7. Which of the four types of fungi closely associates with plant root systems?

Answer 1

1) Slime moulds obtains their nutrients from engulfing animal dung, decayed leaves, bark, log of trees and dead parts of plants. They can even engulf microorganisms like protista, bacteria.

2)Pseudoplasmodium is group of amoebas. The pseudoplasmodium formed when the stored food becomes limited, it results in the aggregation of thousands of amoebas to form a mass of cells called pseudoplasmodium. Aggregation is formed by the glycoprotein and adenyl cyclase which are secreted by the cells. The cells adhered together because of the glycoprotein and cyclic Amp is formed by the adenyl cyclase which attracts the other amoebas .

3)Under unfavorable conditions it becomes immobile and become enlarge and fruiting bodies or sporangia formed which helps in reproduction by the formation of sporocarp spores.

4)zoospore is diploid in nature, they are encysted. They are formed from asexual reproduction.

5)Mushrooms (Aspergillus), Penicillium , Cladosporangium, Amantia.

6) Rhizopus, black bread mold, Cladosporium and Penicillium.

7)Amanita , Leccinum, Suillus, Laccaria bicolor.