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Myxomycota is a phylum of phylogenetically related to the group of the Amoebozoa. The latin name comes from the Greek Myxo, that means "slime", and mycota, that means fungus. They are colloquially known as plasmodial or acellular slime molds or within the scientific community as myxomycetes, however the latter term does not refer to a taxonomic class. Some would also consider Myxomycota as a higher systematic group (i.e. kingdom) unto itself, with an unsettled phylogeny because of conflicting molecular and developmental data. The relations between lower systematic groups (in this case orders) are unclear yet ^1]. These heterotrophic organisms are predators of microbial food webs, ans so they are able to engulf and digest bacteria, yeast, fungal spores, and decaying matter ^[2]

Life Cycle

When a Myxomycete spore germinates, it cracks, releasing an amoeboid cell called a myxamoeba. Depending upon environmental conditions, the myxamoeba can produce flagella in which case is known as a swarm cell. This process is reversible so the flagellum can be retracted and the myxamoeba is established again. The latter ingests food via phagocytosis and divides as it eats. When two myxamoeba of different mating strains (of different populations) find each other, they will merge, forming a zygote. The zygote itself will not divide, but rather it will grow as its nucleus divides, forming a large, multinucleate cell called a plasmodium. The plasmodium will continue to consume organic matter through phagocytosis. After some time, for unknown causes, the plasmodium will convert into a spore-bearing structure called a fruiting body. The four major types of fruiting bodies are the sporangium, the aethalium, the psedoaethalium and the plasmodiocarp. Spores are released from the fruiting body and the life cycle starts over.