My friend has bred under controlled conditions on a tree bark Myxomycetes species that has not been recorded in this area before - Central Europe. I wonder whether it is possible that the spores brought by the wind from another climate will be at the cortex, but not because of the favorable conditions do not develop. Only better microclimate created artificially stimulated to grow them?
Yes, you can grow Myxomycetes species on the tree bark by maintaining controlled conditions that naturally there was not detected. You can also do it for other species also.
Are there any known publications, which prove that alien species can grow under controlled conditions?
Myxomycetologists -- along with mycologists specializing in coprophilous fungi-- have long known that the best way to detect and identify species is to place substrates in moist chambers to mimic optimum fruiting conditions. While it is always gratifying to discover a slime mold fruiting in nature, ecological conditions (temperature and moisture) must be just right for them to fruit. The classic myxomycete monograph (The Myxomycetes by G.W. Martin & C.J. Alexopoulos, 1969. University of Iowa Press.560 p. includes plates) contains only two paragraphs on laboratory culture and nutrition (primarily alluding to the difficulty of getting them to fruit), whereas the more recent Myxomycetes: A Handbook of Slime Molds [Steven L. Stehenson & Henry Stempen. 1994. Timber Press (Portland Oregon). 183 p.] devotes an entire Chapter (pp. 37–47) to the collection, culture, and study of myxomyceytes.
One paper scheduled for publication in the next two weeks (New records of corticolous myxomycetes from Turkey by R. Batur Oran & C. Cem Ergul. 2015. Mycotaxon 130: 181–190) is an interesting look into how new myxomycetes are discovered in a region. the authors followed the protocols set forth in Stephenson and Stempen and make intresting observations on how (logicall) roughened bark provides a better microhabitat for myxomycetes than smooth bark. I am sure there are other papers devoted to corticolous myxomycetes that will give additional hints.
Yes, I have made "moist chamber cultures" of bark of trees to receive myxomycetes quite often. It is a common technique mainly to get the very small species that are usually not seen in field (e.g. Echinostelium, Licea, Paradiacheopsis, Macbrideola, ...).
Regards from Lothar
Thank you for your comments.
And if it is a reliable method? Hero and Ravi write that the development of "foreign" species is possible. Whether the species can be considered as biota of the region?
I think: if you use distilled water for soaking the bark samples and sterile vessels for the collecting and Transport, it is reliable: the species you get were on the sample and are not introduced. Surely you could object: two spores would be enough that have been on the sample - and they can have been wind-blown to the sample from far away. Likely? No.
If you use dirty vessels and tap water for soaking, the species you obtain can be foreign.
As you can see opinions are divided.
My question I asked, because I heard about moving Myxomycetes spores in the air carried with the wind over long distances, including between continents and between climatic zones, which the differences observed between species in this group are large.
In my opinion sporangia slime molds growing from spores held in other conditions than the surrounding atmosphere should be at least mention that the cultured them in unnatural, controlled conditions.
And do you incorporate them into the list of native species? I'm not convinced.
Dear Piotr,
I'm not a myxomecetologist myself, but my department colleague Vladimir Gmioshinsky is working with myxomycetes. He applies a moist chamber method (bark pieces as substrate including) and he revealed that this method results in revealing the species quite different to revealed by sporocarps survey. If you're interesting in this idea you can contact Vladimir via email [email protected]
Best regards,
Elena
Dear Elena
Thank you for the information. Is your colleague Vladimir Gmioshinsky already published such data?
Regards
Piotr
Dear Piotr,
he has publications in Russian,
please see one in attachment,
Regards,
Elena
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