Physarum polycephalum

Table 1 Purification of /3-Poly(L-Malic Acid) and Its Potassium Salt from the Culture Medium of Plasmodia of Physarum polycephalum...

Grow microplasmodia in 25 x indented 2 liter Erlenmeyer flasks, each inoculated with 10-g plasmodia (24 h old) of Physarum polycephalum strain M3CVII in 500 ml growth medium. ... 

Similar results were obtained with Physarum polycephalum strain M3CVII. 

Poly(L-malate) [poly(malic acid) (PMA)], is a water-soluble polyanion produced by slime molds and some yeasts such as Physarum polycephalum or Aureobasidium pullulans, respectively. Its function and metabolism has been studied during the last few years [122-125]. Recently, several PMA-degrad-ing bacteria have been isolated, and a cytoplasmic membrane-bound PMA hydrolase was purified from Comamonas acidovans strain 7789 [126] that... 

If polyribonucleotides are treated simultaneously with methoxylamine and bisulphite, cytidine residues are converted into 5,6-dihydro-7V4-methoxycytidine-6-sulphonate,154 and uridine into 5,6-dihydrouridine-6-sulphonate.155 Treatment with dilute ammonia regenerates the uridine residues, leaving the dihydrocytidine derivatives unaffected. When only the cytidine residues have been derivatized, pancreatic ribonuclease becomes uridyl ribonuclease, since it is unable to cleave the chain on the 3 -side of the modified cytidine.154 This allows the isolation of blocks of modified cytidine residues. T2 ribonuclease may also be used. Alternatively, a ribonuclease from Physarum polycephalum has been found to hydrolyse CpX links very slowly, allowing the isolation of cytidine blocks.156 If both uridine and cytidine residues are modified, T2 ribonuclease acts as puryl ribonuclease, allowing the isolation of cumulative blocks of pyrimidines.155 This ability to alter the specificity of nuclease cleavage is a useful tool in sequence analysis. 

In regenerating rat liver only pre-existing H4 was phosphorylated at the peak of DNA synthesis [116,117]. The modification has a half-life of two hours and may be involved in replication of DNA [109,116,117]. The histidine kinases in yeast and Physarum polycephalum nuclear extracts are unable to phosphorylate H4 in... 

The plasmodia of the wild type of Physarum polycephalum are bright yellow and produce an orange-red pigment that is also present in a white mutant [120]. This compound, named physarorubinic acid (64), binds calcium and other metals very well and this made acquisition of the H-NMR spectrum difficult (line broadening) unless the sample was washed with aq. EDTA solution. The structure contains a decapentaene system and signals at 5 102.4 (C-3), 172.6 (C-7), 174.5 (C-2) and 194.0 (C-4) are characteristic of C-3 acylated tetramic acid unit. 

Huebner, V.D. Matthews, H.R. Phosphorylation of histidine in proteins by a nuclear extract of Physarum polycephalum plasmodia. J. Biol. Chem., 260, 16106-16113 (1985)... 

Hiramaru et al. 123, 124) isolated four RNases and two nucleases from a slime mold, Physarum polycephalum. One (RNase PP ) of the RNases was found to be a novel enzyme. It hydrolyzes RNA in an endonucleolytic way, producing pA, pG, and oligonucleotides bearing 5 -phosphates group with a high preference for purine with regard to 3 -terminal nucleotides. 

Physarum phospholipids (PHYLPA), isolated from myxoamoebae of Physarum polycephalum, is an inhibitor of eukaryotic DNA polymerase [71]. PHYLPA inhibits the proliferation of human fibroblasts cultured in a chemically defined medium. 

Goodman, E.M. Greenebaum, B. Marron, M.T. "Effects of Extremely Low Frequency Electromagnetic Fields on Growth and Differentiation of Physarum polycephalum" Technical Report Phase I (Continuous Wave), University of Wisconsin, 1975. 

Cultivation of the plasmodium of myxomycetes in a practical scale has been known only for very limited species. Physarum polycephalum may be the most familiar species of myxomycetes because of the ease with which its plasmodium may be grown in the laboratory. It has been therefore used extensively in physiological, biochemical, and genetic studies as well as in schools for model organisms. Mass culture of the plasmodia of Physarum polycephalum... 

E. Guttes, S. Guttes and H. R. Rusch (1961). Morphological observations on growth and differentiation of Physarum polycephalum grown in pure culture. Develop. Biol., 3, 588-593. 

H. W. Sauer, K. L. Babcock and H. P. Rusch (1956). High molecular weight phosphorus compound in nucleic acid extracts of the slime mould Physarum polycephalum. J. Bacteriol., 99, 650-661. W. B. Schaefer and C. W. Lewis (1965). Effect of oleic acid on growth and cell structure of Mycobacteria. J. Bacteriol., 90,1438-1446. 

The enzyme was purified to homogeneity from Physarum polycephalum. 

Stcinbacher S, Hof P, Eichinger L et al. Ihe crystal structure of the Physarum polycephalum actin-fragmin kinase an atypical protein kinase with a specialized substrate-binding domain. EMBO J 1999 18(ll) 2923-2929. 

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