This book provides a comprehensive overview of dictyostelids, the second major group of slime molds and one of the most abundant and widespread microorganisms in terrestrial ecosystems. The chapters cover a wide range of topics, including the biology, morphology, and social behavior of dictyostelids, as well as methods for isolating and culturing them in laboratory settings. Readers will gain insights into the dispersal mechanisms, biogeography, and molecular studies that have advanced our understanding of these organisms. The book also examines the symbiotic relationships that dictyostelids maintain with bacteria and other microorganisms, offering insights into their complex interactions and evolutionary significance. The book highlights the latest molecular studies that have reshaped their classification and revealed potential bioactive compounds with antibacterial and anticancer properties. Since their discovery in 1869, nearly 200 species have been identified across habitats ranging from the high Arctic to the subantarctic, with approximately 30% of these species described in this volume. Often confused with the myxomycetes, dictyostelids possess unique life cycles and distinct biological significance. The book explores their primary microhabitat—the soil and humus layer of forest floors—as well as other environments where they play vital ecological roles and serve as model organisms in studies of cell development and evolution. This book is an essential resource for researchers, scholars, and students in microbiology, ecology, and related fields. With well-illustrated content, including microscopic images, this volume offers a detailed and engaging exploration of dictyostelids, inviting readers to appreciate their complexity and significance in the natural world.

Dr. Pu Liu, Professor and doctoral supervisor at Jilin Agricultural University (China),  Visiting scholar of University of Arkansas (United States), Secretary of International Society for Medicinal Mushrooms (ISMM), Associate editor of Slime Molds (An International Journal of Mycetozoans) and Mycosphere, editor of two fungal journals Mycosystema and Journal of Fungal Research in China. She received her B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. from Jilin Agricultural University. She has carried out research on eumycetozoans and fungi, especially in dictyostelid slime molds for about 20 years. She has described and reported 65 new taxa of dictyostelids and reported about 92% of the new records of dictyostelid cellular slime molds of China. She clarified the distribution pattern of dictyostelid cellular slime molds in the different climate zones of China. She has published more than 70 scientific articles, books, and book chapters on slime molds and fungi.

Dr. Yu Li, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Foreign Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Chairman of International Society for Medicinal Mushrooms, professor and doctoral supervisor of Jilin Agricultural University, and Associate editor of Slime Molds (An International Journal of Mycetozoans). He received his B.S. in Plant Disease from Shandong Agricultural University, an M.S. from Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a Ph.D. from Tsukuba University, Japan. He has been a scientist and educator in mycological sciences and engineering for over fifty years. Under his leadership in China, a high level educational system in mycology with undergraduate to post-doctoral students has been established. In China, he was honoured as the “Founder of the Discipline of Mycology, Explorer in the Field of Edible Fungi Science and Research, as well as a Leader of the Edible Fungi Industry.” He has established and served as editor-in-chief of fungal journals such as PanFungi and Journal of Fungal Research (in Chinese). He is the first Chinese nomenclator of slime molds and hosted "Systematic studies on representative taxa in Myxomycetes," which was awarded the Second Prize of National Natural Science in China. He has published more than 300 scientific articles, books and book chapters on slime molds and fungi.

Dr. Steven L. Stephenson retired from the University of Arkansas in 2023. He received his B.S. in biology from the University of Lynchburg and both an M.S and a Ph.D. from Virginia Tech. During his academic career, he was a Senior Fulbright Scholar at Himachal University in India in 1987, a Visiting Scientist at the Australian Antarctic Division in 1995, and the William Evans Visiting Fellow at the University of Otago (Dunedin, New Zealand) in 2003. In addition, he has received three Fulbright Specialist awards. Stephenson has carried out research on all seven continents and in every major type of terrestrial ecosystem. He has co-described almost 50 species of dictyostelids and is the author or coauthor of 22 books and more than 540 book chapters and papers on dictyostelids, myxomycetes, higher fungi, and various subjects of ecology in peer-reviewed journals. Among his recent books are Secretive Slime Moulds: Myxomycetes of Australia (2021) and Myxomycetes: Biology, Systematics, Biogeography, and Ecology (2022).