Cellular slime molds:
Dictyostelium is a cellular slime mold which normally lives as single amoeboid cells.
Under stress ( lack of food & water, temperatures changes etc. ) amoebae will begin
to secrete acarsin, a hormone-like substance which attracts other amoebae. They
stream toward a center of aggregation cells and form a slug (pseudoplasmodium) .
This slug can move but eventually stops and forms a stem with a spore-forming
structure on top. The spores have thick walls made of cellulose & protein. After
several divisions of the spore stage, the spores will give rise to amoebae.
In nature its is found in the soil or in dung feeding on bacteria.
Plasmodial slime molds:
As you can see from the chart above and through a comparison of the life cycles,
there are many differences between the cellular and plasmodial slime molds... in the
cellular slime molds the amoebae although they congregate don't lose their identity,
while in the plasmodial, the mass is coencocytic.