Modeling Approach to the Dynamics of the Plasmodium Physarum polycephalum

The plasmodium of the slime mold Physarum polycephalum is an amoeboid organism which consists of a single cell containing a lot of nuclei (so-called 'synthetium'). Although it looks merely like a mass of protoplasm, it can well manage its growth and movement behavior in response to different feeding conditions in the environment. The motion is basically driven by periodic contractions of the ectoplasm (mainly consisting of an actin-myosin polymer system). We will introduce some challenging ideas for understanding the observed dynamics using mathematical modeling and suitable differential equation systems.