Submitted by Danielle, class of 2012:
Humans aren’t the only animals on earth that practice agriculture! Ants, termites, damselfish and other animals practice simple farming techniques as well. But did you know fungi do it too?
Dictyostelium Discoideum, or the ‘Slime Mold’, is now known to be a species of tiny farmers as well. Certain strains of this fungi practice self-control while eating bacteria, halting their grazing once the amount of their food starts to dwindle. They then mix the leftovers into reproductive structures that release spores which will grow new bacteria.
These strains of Slime Mold essentially plant, fertilize, wait and then eat much like we do. There is no evidence of further care after the ‘crops’ start growing, however it’s still impressive what these fungi are able to do.
However, the farmers don’t always win in the battle for resources. When competing against strains of fungi that don’t practice farming, the nonfarmers luck out. While the farming fungi pause to grow more, the nonfarmers continue to eat and devour all the bacteria. But if the farmers manage to get a strain of bacteria the nonfarmers don’t like to eat, the farmers are able to make their resources last much longer.
Farming! Who would have thought? Who knows what else fungi can do that we can do?
Original source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/68978/title/Old_amoebas_spawn_their_farms
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