Research note: differential chemotaxis of Physarum polycephalum to Salmonella gallinarum and Salmonella pullorum.

The chemotactic and chemotropic responses of the plasmodial stage of the slime mold Physarum polycephalum were used to distinguish Salmonella gallinarum and Salmonella pullorum from 10 Salmonella serovars that are commonly isolated from domestic poultry. Utilizing an in vitro plasmodium agar plate assay method, P. polycephalum was attracted to S. gallinarum and S. pullorum, but the organism was repelled by Salmonella derby, Salmonella dublin, Salmonella enteritidis, Salmonella heidelberg, Salmonella minnesota, Salmonella montevideo, Salmonella newington, Salmonella newport, Salmonella reading, and Salmonella typhimurium.