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Purpose and significance of research

Myxomycete (true slime mold) is also called slime mold. It is neither plant nor animal. It is not in fungi, but it is an organism that belongs to the Amoebozoa. It lives in a very unique life cycle. Plasmodia that moves around and takes nutrition turns into a lot of the fruiting body and they will continue to increase by dispersing a myriad of spores from there. Manamana has liked the myxomycetes since he was 5 years old. He collects plasmodium and has long-term artificial culture of them. Wild plasmodium (right photo) are hard to find from natural environment. Even if you can collect them, it is very difficult to breed and culture them. Therefore study of them does not progress much. In addition, most of previous studies use Physarum polycephalum cultured in museums. Slime mold.

Manamana has continued collection and long-term artificial culture of plasmodium of wild species for 8 years. He also successfully did artificial subculture (to create a child from parent and a grandchild from the child). He continues unprecedented experiments with these materials for 7 years and he is doing the research that we have few previous researches. 　
First, from his research up to 2008, he found that there is a relationship between difference in movement of each species and characteristics of plasmodium’s body. He got to want to deepen a relationship between their thought and movement from this discovery. Then he began a study about what happens when they meet together from 2008. Through the experiment, he found a theme, their power to distinguish "oneself and others". There is an accepted theory that "the plasmodium of the myxomycetes have no oneself and others," however, as a result, after his research for 5 years, he obtained a different conclusion from the accepted theory.

I have studied the plasmodium’s power to distinguish "oneself and others" in two steps.

◇ �T to make them meet each other and to explore about the power to distinguish "oneself and others." method and process of the study �T I observed if individuals fuse when they meet each other on agar medium in 5 cases (another species, those separated from one individual, those returning from dormant state called sclerotia, the same species but different generation, the same species but different locality). I used Physarum polycephalum that has been cultured in a museum and 20 strains of 6 wild species and the strains that were subcultured artificially from 2 wild species in the experiment. Results and Discussion of �T Observing 291 Petri dish in 5 years, their behavior were different by opponent they met. Observing if individuals fuse together finally, another species did not fuse at all. In the case of plasmodium separated from one individual, those returned from sclerotia, those between 5 generations, they fused well. However, some fused, others divide live without any fusion in the case of the same species but different locality. I thought that we couldn’t say clearly, "different species avoid each other, but the same species fuse together".

In order to clear this thing, for total 526 times of encounter in 291 petri dish, I compared "rate of avoiding" as difficulty of fusion, and “rate of deciding action after stop for 30 minutes or more" as difficulty of decision. Then it was found that it was divided into 3 groups. A (another species) is a relationship of “easy-to-understand others" that they avoid each other immediately. B (the same species) is a relationship of "easy-to-understand oneself” that fused well without stopping. We can say that C (the same species but different locality) is a relationship of "difficult-to-understand oneself” that it takes time to decide.

From the above analysis, we can say that the difficulty of fusion and judgment is different by the relationship. I began to think that there was "near / far" in plasmodium’s relationship of oneself and others and it is determined by a key to judge. This is my new hypothesis.

◇ �U to find the key for plasmodia to distinguish "oneself and others." method and process of the study�U

The first part that they touch when they meet each other is clear mucus sheath that cover their body. According to the research of Reid et al. (2012), they avoid trail mark (shed mucus sheath). However, from my own experience, they sometimes trace trail mark. Therefore, I hypothesized that the key of the judgement is the mucus sheath. In order to prove this, I observed its reaction and behavior when it meet "trail mark" (mucus sheath) in 5 cases (make it meet trail mark of itself, another species, the same species but different generation, the same species but different locality that it can fuse, and the same species but different locality that it cannot fuse). I expected that they react when they meet trail mark in a similar way to the case where they meet each other.