Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I did the Maze Solving Slime Mold for my science experiment. It worked out really well but I have a few questions that came up while I was preforming the tests.

Can Slime Mold Survive without oxygen?


What is the average life span of a Slime Mold culture and how large could it grow to?


Why can Slime Mold not grow on Luria Agar but grow on Non Nutrient Agar? Are there other ways to culture Physarum?


The species of slime mold I used for this experiment was Physarum could I use a different type of Slime Mold for the same test?


How does this test of Slime Mold finding food through a maze apply to the Slime Mold “hunting” in it’s life?

If you could answer these as soon as possible that would be great. Thanks!

Hi,

This is a great project! Here are some answers for you.

Physarum polycephalum is an aerobic organism, so requires oxygen. However under adverse conditions, it can transform into a dormant phase called a sclerotium or form sporangia, so it could survive under anaerobic (no oxygen) conditions:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physarum_polycephalum

I’m not sure what the lifespan is, since it keeps growing until environmental conditions are not optimum, and then either becomes dormant or forms spores.

http://www.educationalassistance.org/Ph ... Cycle.html

Slime molds have definite nutritional requirements; they require protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and electrolytes.

Here is an article that studied the requirements of slime molds:

http://mic.sgmjournals.org/cgi/reprint/53/3/333.pdf

You could definitely use a different slime mold for this experiment if you could find it; however, Physarum polycephalum is the commonly available variety. Here is a website that describes other species of slime mold.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slime_mold

Physarum responds to food by a mechanism know as chemotaxis. Here is a report of an experiment that investigated this phenomenon.

http://departments.ozarks.edu/msc/Biolo ... xample.htm

Donna Hardy

Thanks so much for answering! I don't know if you allow this but my teacher would like your name and profession if you could respond and tell that would be great. Thanks again!

Hi Johnny,

For internet safety reasons, we are not allowed to share detailed personal information, but my name is Donna Hardy and I have a degree in Microbiology, and my current work involves a lot of chemistry. All of the volunteers on the Science Buddies website are scientists who like to help students with their science fair projects. If you need to put a reference on your board, you can refer to the Science Buddies website as your source of information.

Donna Hardy