The life cycle of plasmodial slime molds begins with a mature plasmodium, which is a multinucleated mass of protoplasm. In dry environments, the plasmodium can form a sclerotium made of small cells. Under normal conditions, it produces diploid sporangia that undergo meiosis to release haploid spores. These spores germinate into cells that can transition between amoeboid and flagellated forms. The fusion of the cytoplasm of two such cells (plasmogamy) followed by the fusion of their nuclei (karyogamy) yields a diploid zygote, which then divides to form a new multinucleated feeding plasmodium.