The Genetic Basis of the Incompatibility Reaction following Plasmodial Fusion between Different Strains of the Myxomycete Physarum polycephalum

Carlile, M. J.

doi:10.1099/00221287-93-2-371

Cited by 17 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Indeed, the behaviour of individual polyps towards one another gives the first clues as to whether or not they will fuse. Similarly, Physarum individuals will not fuse unless they have some level of genetic similarity (Carlile, ). The same is often true for fungi, another class of modular organism (Leslie, ; Glass, Jacobson & Shiu, ).…”

Section: Individuality In Modular and Colonial Organismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can't see the colony for the bees: behavioural perspectives of biological individuality

Smith-Ferguson

Beekman

2019

Biological Reviews

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The question 'what is an individual' does not often arise in studies within the field of behavioural ecology. Generally behavioural ecologists do not think about what makes an individual because they tend to use intuitive working concepts of individuality. Rarely do they explicitly mention how individuality affects their experimental design and interpretation of results. By contrast, the concept of individuality continues to intrigue philosophers of biology. It is interesting that while philosophers of biology debate definitions of individuality, biologists generally use the concept of individuality every day without much thought. Here we review the philosophical approaches to defining biological individuality, and illustrate how the biological individuality concepts used by biologists are affected by their study question and choice of organism. We clarify the behavioural perspective of biological individuality by introducing the concept of the behavioural individual. The notion of the behavioural individual is particularly interesting when explored in less-conventional study organisms. By including less-conventional organisms, it becomes clear why the concept of biological individuality is usually intuitive in behavioural ecology.

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Section: Individuality In Modular and Colonial Organismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can't see the colony for the bees: behavioural perspectives of biological individuality

Smith-Ferguson

Beekman

2019

Biological Reviews

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“…But stored it is. An individual slime mould can be split, and when it comes back into contact with another plasmodium -assuming there is genetic compatibility (Carlile, 1976) -the two plasmodia initially form connections and ultimately fuse completely. The peculiar biology of the organism allowed the same researchers who conducted the above habituation study to test if information is stored in habituated plasmodia.…”

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confidence: 99%

Who needs a brain? Slime moulds, behavioural ecology and minimal cognition

Smith-Ferguson

Beekman

2019

Adaptive Behavior

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Although human decision making seems complex, there is evidence that many decisions are grounded in simple heuristics. Such heuristic models of decision making are widespread in nature. To understand how and why different forms of information processing evolve, it is insightful to study the minimal requirements for cognition. Here, we explore the minimally cognitive behaviour of the acellular slime mould, Physarum polycephalum, in order to discuss the ecological pressures that lead to the development of information processing mechanisms. We discuss evidence for memory, basic forms of learning and economically irrational choice in P. polycephalum. We compare P. polycephalum’s behaviour with a number of other non-neuronal organisms in order to question the evolutionary need for complex nervous systems to develop cognitive traits. By highlighting a few examples of common mechanisms, we conclude that all organisms contain the building blocks for more complex information processing. Returning the debate about cognition to the biological basics demystifies some of the confusion around the term ‘cognition’.

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“…Amoeboid strains were cultured on Escherichia coli lawns in Petri dishes or, for storage at 5 "C, on slopes in screw cap plastic vials on liver extract agar containing p-aminobenzoic acid, LE-PABA agar (Dee, 1966). Plasmodia1 strains were cultured on a semi-defined agar medium containing starch, SD(St) agar (Carlile, 1976), and stored as sclerotia. New amoeba strains were produced by allowing plasmodia to sporulate in daylight, carrying out serial dilution of spores, isolating colonies developing from single spores after plating, and then recloning the amoebae.…”

Section: T U E D a A N D M J C A R L I L Ementioning

confidence: 99%

The Genetic Basis of Differences in Cation Chemoreception Sensitivity in Plasmodia of the Myxomycete Physarum polycephalum

Ueda¹,

Carlile²

1983

Microbiology

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Hybridization experiments were carried out between strains of the myxomycete Physarum polycephalum which differed in their sensitivities to the cations Na+, K+, Mg2+ and Cat+ as determined by the threshold for changes in membrane potential on application of these ions. The sensitivities were explicable on the basis of control by three genes (mon, mag and caf) for monovalent cations, magnesium and calcium, respectively, with low sensitivity dominant. Departures from the expected ratios for three unlinked loci are explicable by high sensitivity for divalent cations reducing viability, but the additional possibility that high divalent cation sensitivity cannot be expressed in the presence of low monovalent cation sensitivity has not been excluded. Chemotactic thresholds corresponded with membrane potential thresholds.

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The Genetic Basis of the Incompatibility Reaction following Plasmodial Fusion between Different Strains of the Myxomycete Physarum polycephalum

Cited by 17 publications

References 16 publications

Can't see the colony for the bees: behavioural perspectives of biological individuality

Can't see the colony for the bees: behavioural perspectives of biological individuality

Who needs a brain? Slime moulds, behavioural ecology and minimal cognition

The Genetic Basis of Differences in Cation Chemoreception Sensitivity in Plasmodia of the Myxomycete Physarum polycephalum

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