Grex (biology)
Encyclopedia
A grex is a multicellular aggregate of amoeba
of the groups Acrasiomycota
or Dictyosteliida that can be formed when the amoeba run out of food. It takes its form when the column formed from the aggregation of cells collapses due to its height, and becomes a slug-shaped mass. The grex moves as a unit, and the individual organisms form a fruiting body, in which amoeba are differentiated into stalk cells and spore cells. The latter can be transported by wind or water a distance that is relatively great compared with what the organisms can achieve in their typical form; the former desiccate and die. Its name comes from the latin word meaning 'flock'.
Amoeboid
Amoeboids are single-celled life-forms characterized by an irregular shape."Amoeboid" and "amœba" are often used interchangeably even by biologists, and especially refer to a creature moving by using pseudopodia. Most references to "amoebas" or "amoebae" are to amoeboids in general rather than to...
of the groups Acrasiomycota
Acrasiomycota
Acrasidae is a family of slime molds which belongs to the protist group Percolozoa. The name acrasio- comes from the Greek Akrasia, meaning "acting against one's judgement." This group consists of cellular slime molds....
or Dictyosteliida that can be formed when the amoeba run out of food. It takes its form when the column formed from the aggregation of cells collapses due to its height, and becomes a slug-shaped mass. The grex moves as a unit, and the individual organisms form a fruiting body, in which amoeba are differentiated into stalk cells and spore cells. The latter can be transported by wind or water a distance that is relatively great compared with what the organisms can achieve in their typical form; the former desiccate and die. Its name comes from the latin word meaning 'flock'.