Essay about Fuligo Septica

Submitted By toinehicks
Words: 614
Pages: 3

Fuligo Septica

Introduction: Fuligo Septica is a species of a plasmodia slime mold. This fungus is a part of the Myxomycetes class of organisms. This fungus is commonly known as the "dog vomit slime mold" or the "scrambled egg slime because it has a yellowish bile- colored appearance. Fuligo Septica is classified in the Amoebozoa Kingdom and the Physaraceae Family. This fungus is commonly found on tree barks in urban areas after the cause of heavy rain or excessive watering in certain places.

Discussion: This species was first found in 1727 and because of its tanish color it was classified as a sponge. The species was then transferred to the genus Fuligo in later research by botanist Friedrich Wiggers in 1780. Fuligo is has multinucleated mass of undifferentiated cells that may move in an amoeboid like fashion in order to search for nutrients. This species can range from a yellowish to a white grayish color. The plasmodium can eventually turn into a sponge-like aethalium analogous to the spore-bearing fruit body with the resemblance of a mushroom. The species then degrades and darkens on color and is released as a dark colored spore. The spores are known to be dispersed by insect's such as beetles. There are cases known of slime molds being in a high resistance to toxic level metals, and Fuligo Septica is known to be resistant to zinc. The reason this is, is because Fuligo Septica has fuligorubin A which gives it its yellowish pigment, and because of that it is known to chelate metals and convert the metals to their inactive form. Fuligo Septica, even though it is known as a fungus, it is really considered a slime mold. Many people have witnessed this species around there yards, and trees, making many attempts to get rid of this species when in actuality, you cannot get rid of it. Many people have tried to wash the fungus away, but all that does is just spread its swimming spores more easily. This fungus is also known to be edible and is eaten by some people but is not known to leave a pleasant taste. Even though this fungus is not harmful to animals or humans, its spores are known to cause asthma and allergenic rhinitis in some people. Fuligo Septica is known in good environments to help the growing of sugar canes. With the