Data from: Direct transfer of learned behaviour via cell fusion in non-neural organisms

Cell fusion is a fundamental phenomenon observed in all eukaryotes. Cells
can exchange resources such as molecules or organelles during fusion. In
this paper, we ask whether a cell can also transfer an adaptive response
to a fusion partner. We addressed this question in the unicellular slime
mould Physarum polycephalum, in which cell–cell fusion is extremely
common. Slime moulds are capable of habituation, a simple form of
learning, when repeatedly exposed to an innocuous repellent, despite
lacking neurons and comprising only a single cell. In this paper, we
present a set of experiments demonstrating that slime moulds habituated to
a repellent can transfer this adaptive response by cell fusion to
individuals that have never encountered the repellent. In addition, we
show that a slime mould resulting from the fusion of a minority of
habituated slime moulds and a majority of unhabituated ones still shows an
adaptive response to the repellent. Finally, we further reveal that fusion
must last a certain time to ensure an effective transfer of the
behavioural adaptation between slime moulds. Our results provide strong
experimental evidence that slime moulds exhibit transfer of learned
behaviour during cell fusion and raise the possibility that similar
phenomena may occur in other cell–cell fusion systems.