HELP ME

[mint taste slime mould]

1. habitat

I put sclerotia(thanks to ian) in a petri dish(with no medium) with wetted tissue then give them some cornflakes and let them in the warm and dark place. After two days, they grew up that take most place of petri dish. But after 4th days, they started to make spores. During that days, I just don't do anything except for exposing them in light for short times. what's wrong with them?

Before they make spores, i subcultured them to petri dish(with potato dextrose agar medium, at 23℃, 70 % humidity Growth Chamber with 0 Lux) to use them with various experiment. After about 2 days, the another bacteria grow up in all of that petri dish and let physarum to run away. I could not separate them(bacteria and physarum). 

I tried to raise them at paper(beside Growth Chamber), but they dried up because of high temperature(heat from Growth Chamber & spring weather almost 30 ℃). Then I made a new one on paper and I put them in Growth Chamber. Then they dried up too. 

I put 2nd sclerotia on petri dish (with no medium, with wetted tissue, 6 conflakes, no lux, grow them at book shelf). They made spores more faster than the past one.(It takes 2 days.)

My projects need a many amount of Physarum. So we have to know about how to grow them better. Please teach me how to grow the Physarum more stably and fast way. Please answer this questions more Specifically.

2. Spores

We trying to germinating the spores of them. So we are on the way of experiment to find best habitat and to make them grow. There's any confirmed way to germinate them up?

3. food recognition

I wonder if there is a preceding research about how they recognize their food. Diffusion of the food molecule through the air, try to go every where to find food by physically, or else. What is the answer? Please let me know if  you have information.

Please answer me as soon as possible!!

[mint taste slime mould]

thank you ian! I owe you! my project goes well thesedays.

[ian]

If you're getting spores then you're definitely exposing them to too much light.  Spores will germinate after they've been dry for several weeks but they form microscopic amoebae so you won't see anything - plasmodia take weeks to form from the amoebal phase. 

Nutrient agar isn't a great plan - physarum spreads out thin and becomes hard to spot because it doesn't need to organise to find food plus it's very prone to contamination.  2% agar with no nutrient is a better plan - especially if you want it to 'perform'

It sounds like you're trying too hard - forget about growth chambers,  a petri wrapped in foil to exlude all light is simple,  reliable and can be just left lying around.  When you start them off,  don't give them so much food - six cornflakes is a lot and will start to spoil before they colonise. 

Physarum is sensitive to some volatile compounds so it can 'smell' but with grain based food it's dissolved material acting as an attractant.  If you want to demonstrate following scent,  herbal sleeping tablets are the way to go

[mint taste slime mould]

there's nobody can comment my questions? :(