Exploring Slime Molds: Connecting with Experts

[NeedBioInfo]

Does anyone know lots of info on slime molds? If so, could they talk to me on MSN or via email? Thanks

 

[Evo]

Does anyone know lots of info on slime molds? If so, could they talk to me on MSN or via email? Thanks

I used to be married to one.

 

[NeedBioInfo]

that's funny but kind of depressing.

but back to the topic:
I do kind of need the info on them..

thanks

 

[iansmith]

What kind of information do you need?

 

[NeedBioInfo]

well, I had a *lot* of questions, so I was hoping I could just ask somebody via email or MSN

 

[Moonbear]

That would defeat the purpose of a discussion forum. Go ahead and start asking away here. You don't have to ask them all at once, you can ask one at a time and as one question is answered, ask the next. Sometimes there's no one person here who can answer all your questions, but through combined efforts, we can find answers together.

 

[NeedBioInfo]

okay anyways sorry if that was a stupid question but I was talking about it with my friends and her sister and I got into an argument about it with them

Basically what I want to know is could you put the genes from a slime mold into a multi-cellular organism...and how would you do that..etc

Apparently you can take genes from one species and put them into another if what I read below is correct which is what's below

Aren't they already using genes from one species and putting them into others? For example, putting bioluminence genes from say, fireflies, into some other insect, so they glow in the dark...or putting genes from one plant into another to make them more resistent to some type of disease? I'm not fully up on this stuff these days...but I seem to think this stuffs been going on for a while...

Actually, a while back they took the genes from a lightning bug/firefly and put mixed them with that of a tomato. Creating glow in the Dark Tomatoes.

Could somebody help me or tell me who could?
Thanks

 

[NeedBioInfo]

thanks, how quick do you think you could give me the info/tell me someone who could?

 

[Math Is Hard]

Actually, a while back they took the genes from a lightning bug/firefly and put mixed them with that of a tomato. Creating glow in the Dark Tomatoes.

Thank goodness. I am so tired of tripping over tomatoes in the dark!


Were you thinking about this hypothetical multi-cellular organism being able to take on a particular characteristic of slime mold?

 

[NeedBioInfo]

That's what I was asking I mean I don't think it would be impossible if you could put the genes from a slime mold into another organism

More specifically, I was wondering if a specific organ of an organism could take on a particular charactersitc of a slime mold

Thanks

 

[NeedBioInfo]

I also wanted to know about the bio-chemical ability of slime molds, I mean their ability to connect up to each other is based on chemical stuff and not genes right?

Also you'd have trouble putting genes from one species until another because they'd get rejected/destroyed etc right?

 

[iansmith]

Basically what I want to know is could you put the genes from a slime mold into a multi-cellular organism...and how would you do that..etc

There's several strategies depending on tools and organism that you working with. To insert DNA You can use a gene gun, a vector ( a viruses or a bacteria such as Agrobacterium tumerfaciens) or liposome. Usually you make a DNA construct that has the gene of interrest, you selection marker (often a antibiotic or toxic agent resistance genes) and other genetic material you want to insert into the cell.

Apparently you can take genes from one species and put them into another if what I read below is correct which is what's below

Aren't they already using genes from one species and putting them into others? For example, putting bioluminence genes from say, fireflies, into some other insect, so they glow in the dark...or putting genes from one plant into another to make them more resistent to some type of disease? I'm not fully up on this stuff these days...but I seem to think this stuffs been going on for a while...

Yes you can put a gene from one species (bacteria, archea or eukaryotes) into the same type or a different type of organism. The firefly luminescens gene is called luciferase and there already glow in the dark plant
http://kazza.cia.com.au/website/luciferase.html

There's also green fluorencent mouse, rabbit and a rhesus monkey.
http://www.bio-itworld.com/archive/091103/russell.html
http://www.bch.bris.ac.uk/staff/pfdg/teaching/genes.htm
http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/articles/01_01/ANDi.shtml

[/QUOTE]
Actually, a while back they took the genes from a lightning bug/firefly and put mixed them with that of a tomato. Creating glow in the Dark Tomatoes. [/QUOTE]

If you just want the fruit to have a protomer that would only express a gene when fruit specific factors are present. It is a bit more complicated than having a glow in the dark plant.

 

[iansmith]

I also wanted to know about the bio-chemical ability of slime molds, I mean their ability to connect up to each other is based on chemical stuff and not genes right?

It is based on both. The chemicals are important for the formation of the slime colony but certain genes must be turn on or off for this to occur properly.

Also you'd have trouble putting genes from one species until another because they'd get rejected/destroyed etc right?

There is certain mechanism of defense that would destroyed the DNA but there's way to trick the organism into keeping the DNA. Another problem is protein processing. Not all proteins will be produced, there might be certain feature in a protein that cannot be replicated by the new organism.

 

[NeedBioInfo]

So okay what I was wondering about is their ability to connect up to other slime molds apparently there's because of electrons being shared and stuff and not just genes so it would be impossible to transfer that ability to a different organism?
Does anything else other than slime molds have that ability?
Thanks

 

[LeonhardEuler]

Inserting a gene into an organism would not necessarily give it the same attribute which that gene gave the donor organism. The only thing it would do is cause the same protien to be transcribed as in the donor organism. The effect that this has will depend on the cellular environment. In cases where the transcibed protien directly leads to the desired effect, it is practical to cause this effect by inserting genes. However, when the transcribed protien is just one part of a complex chemical reaction that eventually produces an attribute, it is not necessarily true that inserting this gene will have the same effect in the new organism.

 

[NeedBioInfo]

So is it possible that taking the genes etc from the slime mold and putting the necessary ones into a multi-cellular organism (Such as a cat) would allow that organism to connect up to other organisms just like slime molds do or is it not possible because the slime molds also need chemical reactions to be able to do that, etc? Or is it like semi-possible?

Also, are there any things that do that other than slime molds?


Thanks

 

[NeedBioInfo]

I read this:
http://www.scientific-religious.com/text3.html
. A slime mold is composed of thousands of* amoebas that live individual lives but come together when hungry. When the individual vibrations produced by the hunger reach a critical point, they organize into a coherent entity that can move on the ground as a unit. When it reaches a desired location in the forest the mold sprouts a stalk and body that emits spores from which new amoebas are born, thus renewing the process.


Anyways somebody said
The slime mold lacks cell walls which allows the mass together in one protoplasm (or a single-celled slime mold) or form fruiting structures made up of many cellular slime molds and not just one. The fruiting structures allow the slime mold to release spores, but that doesn't make them fungi--they are still in the kingdom protista.

Does that mean a multi-cellular organism could not have that ability genetically because a multi-cellular organism would have cells with cell walls?

I think somebody got confused when I was talking to them because they were talking about them connecting to each other due to the need to share electrons

 

[NeedBioInfo]

I mean could something with CELL walls and the genes of the slime mold do that or could only things WITHOUT cell walls do that?

 

[iansmith]

I read this:
http://www.scientific-religious.com/text3.html
. A slime mold is composed of thousands of* amoebas that live individual lives but come together when hungry. When the individual vibrations produced by the hunger reach a critical point, they organize into a coherent entity that can move on the ground as a unit. When it reaches a desired location in the forest the mold sprouts a stalk and body that emits spores from which new amoebas are born, thus renewing the process.

Part of that explanation is "pseudo"science. Single cells communicated with chemical signals. When these signals are sense by a population, this trigger the production of certains proteins that is required to go from a single cells state to a community state and then to a forming fruit bodies.

In bacteria it is called qorum sensing but I don't know if this term applies to communal slime molds.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...d&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15897458&query_hl=9
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15561583&query_hl=11

Anyways somebody said
The slime mold lacks cell walls which allows the mass together in one protoplasm (or a single-celled slime mold) or form fruiting structures made up of many cellular slime molds and not just one. The fruiting structures allow the slime mold to release spores, but that doesn't make them fungi--they are still in the kingdom protista.

Does that mean a multi-cellular organism could not have that ability genetically because a multi-cellular organism would have cells with cell walls?

I think somebody got confused when I was talking to them because they were talking about them connecting to each other due to the need to share electrons

Not all slime molds can form a giant cell which multinucleate. Only the Plasmodial slime molds can. Also, animal cells do not have cell wall, usually plant and fungi have cell wall.

So, some species of slime molds will be connected by a matrix whereas the plasmodial slime molds will fused their cells together to form a giant cell. The lack of cell wall probably allows the plasmodial slime molds to form a giant cells. Cell wall usually insure a certain cell shape integrity.

 

[LeonhardEuler]

I would think it is unlikely that you could get multicellular organisms to link together with slime mold genes. Slime molds not only must produce protiens that join them to each other, but also protiens that identify other slime molds as slime molds so that they don't try to link to other particles, and they must also have structures in their cellular membranes to support this linkage. Also, these linkage protiens must reach the cell membrane. The mechanisms that recognize slime mold linkage protiens as cellular membrane protiens may not be the same in other organisms. Given this complexity, it seems like it is a much more difficult proposition to have multicellular organisms linking up with sime mold genes than to do something like make a tomatoe produce a phosphorescent chemical or have bacteria produce insulin. This said, it may not be absolutely impossible, just too complex to be accomplished today. By the way, not all multicellular organisms have cell walls. Animal cells do not have cell walls.

 

[NeedBioInfo]

Thanks for replying. Could you sort of explain in layman's terms (Like in as simple/easily understandable a way as possible)) how it would be possible/what ways it would be possible (Hypothetically or in actuality) (Despite things like financial cost, etc) to see if it would be possible to make an organ (Eg a heart or something) in a multi-cellular organism (Like a cat) connect up to another organ (Eg the same one) with the genes of the slime mold? (Or the genes of something else that could be used for the same purpose)

(So basically I wanted to know about one organ in a multi-cellular organism connecting up to another organ in a multi-cellular organism instead of for example the organisms as a whole themselves connecting up to each other)

I mean, because it would be possible to do hypothetically right?
Thanks for your replies!

 

[LeonhardEuler]

You would have to get the slime mold gene into the right part of the genome so that it is only expressed in the cells outside the organ in question. Hypothetically this should be possible since certain regions in the genome are turned on and off in different cells, so if you put this gene in a postion which is only transcribed by thse cells there shouldn't be a problem. Now, where things start getting really complicated is when you start talking about ensuring that the connecting protiens are sent to the cellular membrane. I don't know how this could be accomplished, and it sounds pretty difficult. This might require more knowledge of the cellular mechanisms that control protien packing than is currently known. However, I don't rule out the possibility that somebody somewhere in the world knows how to do it. It seems unlikely , though.

 

[NeedBioInfo]

Could anyone tell me (In regards to the above comment) if that would require more knowledge of the cellular mechanisms that control protien packing than is currently known, and how I could find that out?

thanks