The Molecular Biology of Physarum polycephalum

One landmark in the long history of biological studies on the "slime mold" Physarum polycephalum was the introduction of chemically defined growth conditions for the plasmodial phase of this organism in the laboratory of Harold P. Rusch in Wisconsin in the 1950s. A number of investigators began working with Physarum in that era, then dispersed over the world. In the 1950s to 1960s, the regular meetings of Physarum workers in North America were commonly held in Wisconsin. Strong new scientif...