Myxomycota is a phylum of protists phylogenetically related to the group of the Amoebozoa.
An example is Physarum polycephalum.
These heterotrophic organisms are predators of microbial food webs, and so they are able to engulf and digest bacteria, yeast, fungal spores, and decaying matter
The Latin name comes from the Greek Myxo, that means "slime", and mycota, that means fungus. They are colloquially known as plasmodial or acellular slime molds...
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Myxomycota is a phylum of protists phylogenetically related to the group of the Amoebozoa.
An example is Physarum polycephalum.
These heterotrophic organisms are predators of microbial food webs, and so they are able to engulf and digest bacteria, yeast, fungal spores, and decaying matter
The Latin name comes from the Greek Myxo, that means "slime", and mycota, that means fungus. They are colloquially known as plasmodial or acellular slime molds or within the scientific community as myxomycetes, however the latter term does not refer to a taxonomic class. Some would also consider Myxomycota as a higher systematic group (i.e. kingdom) unto itself, with an unsettled phylogeny because of conflicting molecular and developmental data. The relations between lower systematic groups (in this case orders) are unclear yet .
When a Myxomycete spore germinates, it cracks, releasing an amoeboid cell called a myxamoeba. Depending upon environmental conditions, the myxamoeba can produce flagella in...
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