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Plasmodial slime molds and the evolution of microbial husbandry

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Abstract

Detailed analyses into the life cycle of the soil-dwelling microbe Dictyostelium discoideum led to the conclusion that this “social amoeba” practices some form of “non-monoculture farming” via the transfer of bacteria to novel environments. Herein, we show that in myxomycetes (plasmodial slime molds or myxogastrids) a similar “farming symbiosis” has evolved. Based on laboratory studies of two representative species in the genera Fuligo and Didymium, the sexual life cycle of these enigmatic microbes that feed on bacteria was reconstructed, with reference to plasmo- and karyogamy. We document that the spores carry and transfer bacteria and hence may inoculate new habitats. The significance of this finding with respect to Ernst Haeckel’s work on myxomycetes and his concept of ecology are addressed.

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(Adapted from Haeckel 1878)

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Acknowledgement

We thank Dr. S. L. Stephenson (University of Arkansas, USA) for helpful comments on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biology, University of Kassel, Heinrich-Plett-Strasse 40, 34132, Kassel, Germany

    Ulrich Kutschera

  2. Museum für Naturkunde, Nicolaiberg 3, 07545, Gera, Germany

    Thomas Hoppe

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  1. Ulrich Kutschera
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  2. Thomas Hoppe
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Correspondence to Ulrich Kutschera.

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This article is a contribution to the Special Issue Ernst Haeckel (1834–1919): the German Darwin and his impact on modern biology. Guest Editors: U. Hossfeld, G. S. Levit, and U. Kutschera.

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Kutschera, U., Hoppe, T. Plasmodial slime molds and the evolution of microbial husbandry. Theory Biosci. 138, 127–132 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12064-019-00285-3

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