  Wounding is a severe impairment of function, especially for an exposed
organism like the network-forming true slime mould Physarum polycephalum. The
tubular network making up the organism's body plan is entirely interconnected
and shares a common cytoplasm. Oscillatory contractions of the enclosing tube
walls drive the shuttle streaming of the cytoplasm. Cytoplasmic flows underlie
the reorganization of the network for example by movement toward attractive
stimuli or away from repellants. Here, we follow the reorganization of Physarum
polycephalum networks after severe wounding. Spatial mapping of the contraction
changes in response to wounding reveal a multi-step pattern. Phases of
increased activity alternate with cessation of contractions and stalling of
flows, giving rise to coordinated transport and growth at the severing site.
Overall, severing surprisingly acts like an attractive stimulus enabling
healing of severed tubes. The reproducible cessation of contractions arising
during this wound-healing response may open up new venues to investigate the
biochemical wiring underlying Physarum polycephalum's complex behaviours.
