{
  "abstract": "We investigated the behavioral responses of the slime mold Physarum polycephalum to Escherichia coli expressing human small GTPases to elucidate how internalized proteins affect its actomyosin-based motility machinery. We found that prey bacteria expressing hKRAS WT or hRhoA triggered a deterministic “conflict” behavior, in which P. polycephalum failed to complete ingestion despite physical contact. Notably, the oncogenic hKRAS G12C mutation induced a transition to stochastic switching among predation, conflict, and sampling-mediated rejection, whereas hRac1 expression showed a tendency toward diversified behavioral outcomes. To explain this, we propose a working model centered on molecular jamming or local perturbation of intracellular oscillatory dynamics, in which non-prenylated G-domains act as decoys that decouple the contractile machinery from leading-edge actin dynamics. This behavioral stochasticity likely reflects physical noise arising from the specific conformational states and functional heterogeneity of the expressed proteins. Our results suggest that P. polycephalum functions as a sensitive biological sensor of the biophysical properties of prey proteins, providing a unique platform for exploring the co-evolutionary arms race and molecular survival strategies between bacteria and amoeboid predators.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Fundamental Engineering, Nippon Institute of Technology, Saitama, Japan",
    "Tochigi Prefectural Oyama High School, Oyama, Tochigi, Japan",
    "Department of Innovative System Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Nippon Institute of Technology, Saitama, Japan",
    "Glycometabolic Biochemistry Laboratory, RIKEN, Saitama, Japan",
    "Department of Sustainable Biological Chemistry, Faculty of Fundamental Engineering, Nippon Institute of Technology, Saitama, Japan"
  ],
  "article_type": "Research Article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Rui Saiki"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Rion Iimura"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Makoto Ichimura"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Yoshihito Osada"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Ken-Ichi Sano"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/98c47628s6fzh.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0359275",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "98c47628s6fzh",
  "issns": [
    "1932-6203"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359275",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2204|Slime Mold and Myxomycetes Research"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Biochemistry/Enzymology/Enzymes/Hydrolases/Guanosine triphosphatase"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Biochemistry/Proteins/Enzymes/Hydrolases/Guanosine triphosphatase"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Cell biology/Cellular structures and organelles/Cytoskeleton"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Ecology/Community ecology/Trophic interactions/Predation"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Microbiology/Medical microbiology/Microbial pathogens/Bacterial pathogens/Escherichia coli"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Organisms/Bacteria/Enterobacteriaceae/Escherichia/Escherichia coli"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Organisms/Bacteria/Gut bacteria/Escherichia/Escherichia coli"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Parasitology/Parasite groups/Apicomplexa/Plasmodium"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Physiology/Physiological processes/Ingestion"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Psychology/Behavior/Animal behavior/Collective animal behavior"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Zoology/Animal behavior/Collective animal behavior"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Ecology and environmental sciences/Ecology/Community ecology/Trophic interactions/Predation"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Pathology and laboratory medicine/Pathogens/Microbial pathogens/Bacterial pathogens/Escherichia coli"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Pathology and laboratory medicine/Pathogens/Virulence factors/Pathogen motility"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Research and analysis methods/Animal studies/Experimental organism systems/Model organisms/Escherichia coli"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Research and analysis methods/Animal studies/Experimental organism systems/Prokaryotic models/Escherichia coli"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Research and analysis methods/Model organisms/Escherichia coli"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Psychology/Behavior/Animal behavior/Collective animal behavior"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7214150314",
  "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0359275&type=printable",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-24",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/98c47628s6fzh.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:43Z",
      "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pone.0359275",
      "source": "plos",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359275"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "plos:ecology",
      "subfield": "ecology"
    },
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "plos:microbiology",
      "subfield": "microbiology"
    },
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "plos:animal behavior",
      "subfield": "zoology-behaviour"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Bacterial expression of human small GTPases induces stochastic predatory responses and motility interference in Physarum polycephalum",
  "title_text": "Bacterial expression of human small GTPases induces stochastic predatory responses and motility interference in Physarum polycephalum",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:43Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/98c47628s6fzh",
  "venue": "PLOS One",
  "versions": []
}