Occurrence and Diversity of Myxomycetes (Plasmodial Slime Molds) along the Northern Slope of Mt. Makulot, Cuenca, Batangas, Philippines

Corticolous myxomycetes are a specialized guild of myxomycetes thriving on the bark of living trees. In this study, we explored the bark-inhabiting myxomycetes from selected trees in the Angat Watershed Forest Reserve, Bulacan, Philippines. Pieces of dead tree barks were carefully removed from selected mature trees — Gmelina arborea (“gmelina” or “yemane”), Mangifera indica (“mango”), Parkia timoriana (“kupang”), Pinus sp. (“pine tree”), Pterocarpus indicus (“narra”), Samanea saman (“acacia” or “rain tree”), and Shorea contorta (“white lauan”), within the accessible forest area and used for the preparation of moist chamber culture. Following incubation for 8–12 weeks, fruiting bodies from the moist chambers were identified. Results showed a total of 17 species belonging to 10 genera from five orders. The identified corticolous myxomycetes were Arcyria cinerea, A. denudata, Comatricha pulchella, C. tenerrima, Cribraria microcarpa, C. violacea, Diderma effusum, D. hemisphaericum, Hemitrichia pardina, Lamproderma scintillans, Licea operculata, Licea sp.1, Perichaena chrysosperma, P. pedata, Physarum album, P. leucophaeum, and Trichia decipiens. This is the first report of corticolous myxomycetes in the Angat Watershed Forest Reserve. KEYWORDS: bark, moist chamber culture, Paleotropics, plasmodial slime molds, species list

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The Nucleus of the Plasmodial Slime Molds

The Cell Nucleus ◽

10.1016/b978-0-12-147601-4.50012-9 ◽

1974 ◽

pp. 187-218 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Joyce Mohberg

Keyword(s):

Slime Molds ◽

Plasmodial Slime Molds

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Diversity of plasmodial slime molds (myxomycetes) in coastal, mountain, and community forests of Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro, the Philippines

Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity ◽

10.1016/j.japb.2015.10.004 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 322-329 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Nikki Heherson A. Dagamac ◽

Maria Angelica D. Rea-Maminta ◽

Nathan S. Batungbacal ◽

Soo Hyun Jung ◽

Carmela Rina T. Bulang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

The Philippines ◽

Slime Molds ◽

Community Forests ◽

Plasmodial Slime Molds ◽

Coastal Mountain

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Evaluation of tree canopy epiphytes and bark characteristics associated with the presence of corticolous myxomycetes

Botany ◽

10.1139/b09-027 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 87 (5) ◽

pp. 509-517 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Sydney E. Everhart ◽

Joseph S. Ely ◽

Harold W. Keller

Keyword(s):

Species Abundance ◽

Ground Level ◽

Tree Canopy ◽

Percent Cover ◽

Species Occurrence ◽

Patchy Distribution ◽

Slime Molds ◽

Study Sites ◽

Plasmodial Slime Molds ◽

Vertical Transect

Certain species of myxomycetes (plasmodial slime molds) are regularly present with mosses, lichens, and algae. Corticolous myxomycetes were previously studied in the tree canopy, and observations suggested that species occurrence is patchy and species abundance may increase with the presence of bryophytes and lichens. The purpose of this study was to quantify the association of corticolous myxomycete species with percent cover of epiphytes and with bark characteristics, such as water absorption, bark thickness, and bark pH. Study sites were located in three temperate forests in the southeastern USA. The doubled rope climbing method was used to collect bark from trees and grapevines in a vertical transect up to 15 m above ground level. Moist chambers (374) were used to culture myxomycetes for 32 d. The percent cover of lichens, bryophytes, myxobacteria, and filamentous fungi were estimated in five 2 cm × 2 cm quadrats for 187 sample sites. Results showed no association between percent cover of epiphytes and myxomycetes. Bark pH was the major factor influencing the occurrence of corticolous myxomycete species, and the patchy distribution of myxomycetes was attributed to the small plasmodium characteristic of most corticolous species.

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The occurrence of myxomycetes from a lowland montane forest and agricultural plantations of Negros Occidental, Western Visayas, Philippines

Fine Focus ◽

10.33043/ff.1.1.7-20 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 7-20 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Julius Raynard D. Alfaro ◽

Donn Lorenz Ivan M. Alcayde ◽

Joel B. Agbulos ◽

Nikki Heherson A. Dagamac ◽

Thomas Edison E. Dela Cruz

Keyword(s):

Forest Floor ◽

Field Survey ◽

Abundant Species ◽

Morphological Characterization ◽

Montane Forest ◽

Shannon Index ◽

Fruiting Bodies ◽

Slime Molds ◽

Forested Areas ◽

Plasmodial Slime Molds

Higher floral and faunal biodiversity is expected in multi-species-covered mountainous forests than in mono-typic agricultural plantations. To verify this supposition for cryptogamic species like the plasmodial slime molds, a rapid field survey was conducted for myxomycetes and substrates in forest floor litter and agricultural plantation were collected in Negros Occidental, Philippines. Morphological characterization identified a total of 28 species belonging to the genera Arcyria, Ceratiomyxa, Collaria, Comatricha, Craterium, Cribraria, Diderma, Didymium, Hemitrichia, Lamproderma, Physarum, Stemonitis, Trichia and Tubifera. The myxomycete species Arcyria cinerea was the only abundant species found both in the agricultural and forested areas. The majority of collected species were rarely occurring. In terms of species composition, more myxomycetes were recorded in the mountainous forest (27) compared to agricultural sites. Furthermore, aerial leaf litter collected in the forests had the highest number of records for fruiting bodies but in terms of species diversity, twigs yielded higher value based on Shannon index. Findings in this study verify that a habitat with more heterogenous plant communities yields higher species of myxomycete assemblages. This research is the first study to report myxomycetes from Negros Occidental.

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Quick n’ Cheap – a simplified workflow to barcode plasmodial slime molds(Myxomycetes)

Karstenia ◽

10.29203/ka.2020.504 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 385-392

Author(s):

Martin Schnittler ◽

Nikki H.A. Dagamac ◽

Dmitry Leontyev ◽

Oleg Shchepin ◽

Yuri K. Novozhilov ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Elongation Factor ◽

Single Copy ◽

Slime Molds ◽

Elongation Factor 1 Alpha ◽

Alpha Gene ◽

Cost Efficient ◽

Commercial Kits ◽

Rate Of Failure ◽

Plasmodial Slime Molds ◽

Elongation Factor 1

We present a workflow for efficient barcoding of myxomycete fructifications, which (i) requires less than 1000 spores, (ii) allows to collect spores with only a needle, (iii) works without any commercial kits, and (iv) is optimized for the use of 96-well PCR plates throughout the process. Specimens of 291 dark-spored nivicolous myxomycetes and 121 bright-spored members of the Trichiaceae were sequenced for the barcode marker 18S rDNA (SSU) with a low rate of failure and no detectable cross-contamination. Crude DNA extracts can be stored for further analyses: the elongation factor 1 alpha gene (EF1A), a single-copy marker, was successfully amplified after four weeks of storage.As such our procedure will allow a time- and cost-efficient barcoding of large series of specimens.

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