Question

Slime molds are one example of fungus-like protists. Compare and contrast the two types of slime molds, their cell structure, and how they obtain nutrients.

Answer 1

The two kinds of slime molds are plasmodial slime molds or true slime molds and cellular slime molds.

True slime molds are a type of molds that are large hand are single-celled that have thousands of nuclei called plasmodium. These molds form when individual flagellated cells come together and fuse forming a large bag of cytoplasm that contains several diploid nuclei.

Cellular slime molds on the other hand are single-celled amoeboid protists. They undergo what is known as pseudoplasmodia wherein the individual mold will release a chemical signal then other single-celled molds will get attracted and turn into a swarm. As the swarm continues to grow it eventually becomes a multi-cellular slug.