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Morphology shows altered tubular network architecture, including reduced vein diameters and changes in peristaltic contraction frequency. Transcriptomics identifies 2000+ differentially expressed genes, with upregulation of ion transporters, membrane proteins, and stress pathways, and downregulation of metabolic-degradation genes. Findings suggest regulation of ion homeostasis, cytoskeletal dynamics, and defence-related gene expression, with possible effects on the secreted slime coat and mechanical feedback. 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exposure?",{"text":71,"@type":63},"Transcriptomic analysis reveals more than 2000 differentially expressed genes, including significant upregulation of ion transporters, membrane proteins, and stress-related pathways, alongside downregulation of genes involved in metabolic degradation.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":74,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":76,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":78,"site_id":7},450411,1790814666,{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":82},"success",[83,87,91,95,100,105,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":84,"show_sort_weight":85,"slug":86},"Story & 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nature.com/scientificreports)  \nOPEN  \nSalt affects structure, function and transcriptome in the giant cells of slime molds  \nBeatriz Sánchez-Parra1,2,3􀀍, Philipp Rosina1, Fernando Fernández-Mendoza4 & Martin Grube1􀀍  \nSalt is essential for life, though excessive intake disrupts the balance of body fluids in multicellular organisms like humans. We wondered what happens when body fluids circulate in a single cell. To address this question, we studied the effects of excessive salt on the network-forming giant cell of the slime mold Physarum polycephalum. We analyse the phenotypic and transcriptomic responses during exposure of plasmodia to various concentrations of sodium chloride. Morphological observations revealed alterations in the tubular network architecture, including reduced network vein diameter and changes in typical peristaltic contraction frequency. Transcriptomic analysis identified more than 2000 differentially expressed genes, with a significant upregulation of ion transporters, membrane proteins and stress-related pathways, alongside with a downregulation of genes involved in metabolic degradation. These findings suggest that P. polycephalum mitigates salt stress by regulating ion homeostasis, adjusting cytoskeletal dynamics and modulating gene expression related to cellular defence mechanisms. Possible alterations ofthe secreted slime coat and corresponding mechanical feedback mechanisms are discussed. The insights into the salt stress responses of P. polycephalum help to understand the salt response of a protist that is evolutionary basal to animals and fungi.  \nKeywords Plasmodium, Physarum, NaCl, Transcriptomics  \nStress represents an unfavorable condition of life which deviates from an energetically optimal state and redirects energetic resources from growth to a stress response. Since environmental stress can be repeatedly encountered throughout the life cycle, organisms escape actively or evolved fine-tuned responses or even some sort of habituation to stress. These responses may range from immediate physicochemical adjustments to more complex regulatory reactions, including shifts in gene expression patterns. Among the various factors, one of the most common inducers of stress responses in terrestrial organisms is osmotic stress, caused by low water potential during desiccation or by exposure to high ionic strength such as exerted by solutions of salts. Responses to osmotic stress have been studied in many multicellular and unicellular eukaryotes, where it includes common signalling responses1. Typically, the phenotypes ofthe studied organisms remain – at least with moderate levels of osmotic stress – largely shape-invariant. Here we study a group of unicellular protists known as plasmodial slime moulds (Myxogastria), which can vary in their phenotypes depending on the environmental conditions2. Typically, the model species Physarum polycephalum develops a macroscopic and multinucleate plasmodium.  \nThe resulting giant cell develops a network of interconnected vein-like segments. The fluid cytoplasm – including organelles and nuclei—is freely transported through the veins by a process commonly known as shuttle streaming. The effective mixing of granular cytoplasmic content is achieved by peristalsis, i.e., radially symmetric contractions of the veins. This mechanism results in exceptional acceleration of content with maximum speeds reaching 1 mm per second. By wave-like propagation of the peristaltic contractions, the entire organism extends also at the growing periphery. As peristalsis is mixing the contents in the cellular network, the entire organism adjusts its vein architecture efficiently with the location food sources or inhibitory cues3–6. This responsiveness helped plasmodial slime molds to enormous popularity and inspired interdisciplinary research about decentralized decision making and shortest path problems, including maze solving7.  \nPlasmodia ofP. po","cbCaibhocG0sN0FF","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaibhocG0sN0FF","pdf",3185743,11,"English","# Salt affects structure, function and transcriptome in the giant cells of slime molds\n## Background: osmotic stress and plasmodial slime molds\n## Physarum network biology: shuttle streaming and peristalsis\n## Salt aversion and habituation after salt exposure\n## Study gap: unexplored transcriptomic salt-stress response","[{\"question\":\"What question does the study address about salt stress in Physarum?\",\"answer\":\"It examines what happens when excessive salt is introduced to the network-forming giant cell of Physarum polycephalum, focusing on both phenotypic changes and transcriptomic responses.\"},{\"question\":\"How does high salt alter Physarum’s morphology?\",\"answer\":\"Morphological observations show changes in the tubular network architecture, including reduced network vein diameter and altered peristaltic contraction frequency.\"},{\"question\":\"Which types of genes change under salt exposure?\",\"answer\":\"Transcriptomic analysis reveals more than 2000 differentially expressed genes, including significant upregulation of ion transporters, membrane proteins, and stress-related pathways, alongside downregulation of genes involved in metabolic degradation.\"}]","Salt affects structure, function and transcriptome in the giant cells of slime molds | PDF",1790733144,28]