Name: The Great Australian Slime Mold Bakeoff
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When presented with a buffet of custards with varying ratios of protein to sugar, slime mold selects its optimal food source.

The purpose of this experiment was to see how Physarum regulates its nutritional needs.

The Great Australian Slime Mold Bakeoff

Great Australian Slime Mold Bakeoff

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When presented with a buffet of custards with varying ratios of protein to sugar, slime mold selects its optimal food source.This video is an excerpt from <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/secret-mind-of-slime/">Secret Mind of Slime</a>.

The purpose of this experiment was to see how Physarum regulates its nutritional needs.

Nature

The Great Australian Slime Mold BakeoffPublished: September 25, 2020Audrey Dussutour: The purpose of this experiment was to see how Physarum regulates its nutritional needs.So, we had to invent special recipes for Blob.Narrator: …making their Australian laboratory seem more like a British bakeoff.Tanya Latty: We had to do a lot of different mixing and cooking to figure out the ratio of proteins to carbohydrates that the slime mold did the best on, so the ones that maximize their growth.Dussutour: We created these sort of crème brûlées. We called them custards. Thirty-five different recipes; each had a particular ratio of protein-to-sugar.Narrator: To determine which of these recipes was best, the judge in this test kitchen was Physarum.They placed Physarum on each of these 35 mixtures of protein and carbohydrates—basically, sugar—and found that Physarum needed both to survive. But too much protein, and Physarum would split apart; too much sugar proved fatal. With just the right balance, Physarum grew and remained healthiest.Audrey and Tanya had found Physarum’s optimal diet, now they were ready to test if Physarum could find it, when presented with multiple options.Dussutour: So, we offered Physarum a buffet. In this buffet, Physarum had a variety of custards to choose from, each with a different ratio of protein-to-sugar.Narrator: Could Physarum find one with the proper balance, among these seven different ratios of nutrients? Physarum comes to life, unfurling its tendril-like extensions called pseudopods.Latty: It’s detected that food cue and extended a pseudopod out. I get the impression they don’t super like that lighter blue food source.Narrator: In fact, it contains levels of sugar that would be lethal to Physarum, and so, it heads elsewhere.Latty: You can see it’s sort of dividing into a bunch of pseudopods. It’s contacted that one in the middle. I’m not sure if it’s actually chosen that one.Narrator: It’s the best ratio it’s sensed so far.It begins eating, and continues searching.Latty: Slime mold can, and so it does. It will first engulf the food and then send out pseudopods to start looking, because you never know what’s around the corner.Narrator: The slime mold soon abandons that source.Latty: It’s sort of shifted. The slime mold clearly likes the left side better.Narrator: On this side, is the best nutritional balance.Given seven options, Physarum found the optimal ratio of protein to sugar.

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The Great Australian Slime Mold Bakeoff

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