Light- and ultra-microscopical observations on the surface structure of the protoplasmodium, aphanoplasmodium, and phaneroplasmodium (Myxomycetes)

Abstract

The surface structure of three types of myxomycete Plasmodia, namely, protoplasmodium (Echinostelium minutum), aphanoplasmodium (Stemonitis flavogenita), and phaneroplasmodium (Physarum polycephalum), was studied with light, scanning, and transmission electron microscopy. E. minutum and P. polycephalum possess robust slime sheaths composed of filaments 50–100 Å in diameter. The hyaline aphanoplasmodium of S. flavogenita lacks a slime sheath; its plasmodial surface is covered with slender filopodia. The potential role of the plasmodial surface is discussed in relation to phagocytosis, cell movement, coalescence, and cell wall formation.