Slime mold or slime mould is an informal name given to a polyphyletic assemblage of unrelated eukaryotic organisms in the Stramenopiles, Rhizaria, Discoba, Amoebozoa and Holomycota clades. Most are microscopic; those in the Myxogastria form larger plasmodial slime molds visible to the naked eye. The slime mold life cycle includes a free-living single-celled stage and the formation of spores. Spores are often produced in macroscopic multicellular or multinucleate fruiting bodies that may be formed through aggregation or fusion; aggregation is driven by chemical signals called acrasins. Slime molds contribute to the decomposition of dead vegetation; some are parasitic.
Comatricha nigra (myxogastria) with developing fruiting bodies (sporangia)
Lycogala epidendrum was the first slime mold to be discussed scientifically, by Thomas Panckow in 1654.
Stemonitis shows stalked sporangia for airborne spore dispersal.
Diachea leucopodia
The eukaryotes constitute the domain of Eukarya or Eukaryota, organisms whose cells have a membrane-bound nucleus. All animals, plants, fungi, and many unicellular organisms are eukaryotes. They constitute a major group of life forms alongside the two groups of prokaryotes: the Bacteria and the Archaea. Eukaryotes represent a small minority of the number of organisms, but given their generally much larger size, their collective global biomass is much larger than that of prokaryotes.
Image: Rhodomonas salina CCMP 322
Image: Ranunculus asiaticus 4LEST
Image: Trypanosoma sp. PHIL 613 lores
Image: Chaos carolinensis Wilson 1900