THE MYCETOZOA 



147 



The Mycetozoa. — In the Mycetozoa, a number of young Plas- 

 modia of the same species, each derived from a zygote formed by 

 the fusion of two amoebulae, may fuse together into a single com- 

 pound Plasmodium. 1 When such a compound plasmodium is 

 formed, the cytoplasmic masses of the component plasinodia become 



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Fig. 80. — Chondro^nyces crocntus, one of the Myxobacteriaceae. A, a troup 

 of bacteria in a hanging drop of cleared dung-agar, drawn with tlie camern- 

 Incida. B, the same troup two minutes later : all of the bacteria have 

 changed their positions but have kept together as though they have in- 

 fluenced one another's movements. C, three cysts which have been re- 

 moved from a fruit-body (c/. Fig. 81, no. 6). D, cysts germinating in 

 dung-agar : a, a cyst from which bacteria are emerging ; b, the same 

 cyst four hours later ; c and e, two other cysts which have opened apically ; 

 d, a cyst which has opened laterally. Winnipeg material, found on rotting 

 stipes of small Coprini in a horse-dung culture. Drawn by A. H. R. Duller 

 and Ruth Macrae. ]\fagnification : A and B, about 1066 ; C and D, 402. 



indistinguishably united, while the various nuclei brought together 

 and embedded in it remain separate from one another, each retain- 

 ing its identity. A compound plasmodium of the kind just described 

 may grow in size with an increase in the number of its nuclei, and 

 eventually it may become transformed into fruit-bodies. Thus, a 

 number of small, simple plasmodia, by combining with one another, 

 may pool their resources in respect to both their vegetative functions 

 and the production of sporangia and spores. The formation of a 

 compound plasmodium from a number of simple ones is another 



1 G. Lister, A Monograph of the Mycetozoa, third edition, London, 1925, p. xviii. 



