Temperature-sensitive mutants of the slime mould Physarum polycephalum. I. Mutants of the amoebal phase.

A replica plating method for isolating it amoebal mutants of Physarum polycephalum has been devised. Temperature-sensitive mutations occur at a frequency after nitrosoguanidine mutagenesis of 10(-3) per survivor, are stable but are not usually expressed in the plasmodia formed from these amoebae in clones. Some of these mutants appear to be cell-cycle stage specific.