Editing Slime mold (section)

{{Short description|Spore-forming organisms}}
{{good article}}

[[File:Comatricha nigra 176600092.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|''[[Comatricha nigra]]'' ([[myxogastria]]) with developing fruiting bodies ([[Sporangium|sporangia]])]]

'''Slime mold''' or '''slime mould''' is an informal name given to a [[polyphyly|polyphyletic]] assemblage of unrelated [[eukaryotic]] organisms in the  [[Stramenopile]]s, [[Rhizaria]], [[Discoba]], [[Amoebozoa]] and [[Holomycota]] [[clades]]. Most are near-microscopic; those in the [[Myxogastria]] form larger [[Plasmodium (life cycle)|plasmodial]] slime molds visible to the naked eye.

The slime mold [[Biological life cycle|life cycle]] includes a free-living [[single-celled]] stage and the formation of spores. Spores are often produced in macroscopic multicellular or [[multinucleate]] fruiting bodies that may be formed through aggregation or fusion; aggregation is driven by [[Cell signaling|chemical signals]] called [[acrasin]]s. Slime molds contribute to the [[decomposition]] of dead vegetation; some are [[Parasitism|parasitic]].

Most slime molds are terrestrial and free-living, typically in damp shady habitats such as in or on the surface of rotting wood. Some myxogastrians and [[Protosteliales|protostelians]] are aquatic or semi-aquatic. The [[phytomyxea]] are parasitic, living inside their plant [[host (biology)|hosts]]. Geographically, slime molds are [[cosmopolitan distribution|cosmopolitan]] in distribution. A small number of species occur in regions as dry as the [[Atacama Desert]] and as cold as the [[Arctic]]; they are abundant in the [[tropics]], especially in [[Tropical rainforest|rainforests]].

Slime molds have a variety of behaviors otherwise seen in animals with brains. Species such as ''[[Physarum polycephalum]]'' have been used to simulate traffic networks. Some species have traditionally been eaten in countries such as Ecuador.