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Abstract
SUMMARY: Nuclei of different diameters, containing different numbers of chromosomes, are found in all macroscopic plasmodia of the true slime mould Didymium nigripes. The relative proportions of small and large nuclei vary in different plasmodial clones. Over extended periods of time c 6 wild-type clones maintain a constant proportion of small nuclei whereas y2–1, a yellow mutant, does not. Nuclear fusion (syngamy) does not occur prior to plasmodium formation in this isolate; neither is it delayed until the plasmodium has formed. The rate of formation of large nuclei in plasmodia was calculated. When plasmodia with differing nuclear size ratios were fused, the observed shifts in the nuclear size ratio suggested the possibility that parasexual processes could exist in the isolate under study.
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