scholarly journals The Social Amoeba Polysphondylium pallidum Loses Encystation and Sporulation, but Can Still Erect Fruiting Bodies in the Absence of Cellulose

Protist ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 165 (5) ◽  
pp. 569-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qingyou Du ◽  
Pauline Schaap
Keyword(s):  
Fruiting Bodies ◽  
Social Amoeba ◽  
Polysphondylium Pallidum ◽  
The Social

scholarly journals Migration in the social stage ofDictyostelium discoideumamoebae impacts competition

PeerJ ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. e1352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chandra N. Jack ◽  
Neil Buttery ◽  
Boahemaa Adu-Oppong ◽  
Michael Powers ◽  
Christopher R.L. Thompson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dictyostelium Discoideum ◽  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Fruiting Bodies ◽  
Social Competition ◽  
Migration Distance ◽  
Homogeneous Population ◽  
Social Amoeba ◽  
Cheating Behavior ◽  
The Social ◽  
New Location

Interaction conditions can change the balance of cooperation and conflict in multicellular groups. After aggregating together, cells of the social amoebaDictyostelium discoideummay migrate as a group (known as a slug) to a new location. We consider this migration stage as an arena for social competition and conflict because the cells in the slug may not be from a genetically homogeneous population. In this study, we examined the interplay of two seemingly diametric actions, the solitary action of kin recognition and the collective action of slug migration inD. discoideum, to more fully understand the effects of social competition on fitness over the entire lifecycle. We compare slugs composed of either genetically homogenous or heterogeneous cells that have migrated or remained stationary in the social stage of the social amoebaDictyostelium discoideum. After migration of chimeric slugs, we found that facultative cheating is reduced, where facultative cheating is defined as greater contribution to spore relative to stalk than found for that clone in the clonal state. In addition our results support previous findings that competitive interactions in chimeras diminish slug migration distance. Furthermore, fruiting bodies have shorter stalks after migration, even accounting for cell numbers at that time. Taken together, these results show that migration can alleviate the conflict of interests in heterogeneous slugs. It aligns their interest in finding a more advantageous place for dispersal, where shorter stalks suffice, which leads to a decrease in cheating behavior.

scholarly journals Amino Acid Repeats Cause Extraordinary Coding Sequence Variation in the Social Amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum

PLoS ONE ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. e46150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clea Scala ◽  
Xiangjun Tian ◽  
Natasha J. Mehdiabadi ◽  
Margaret H. Smith ◽  
Gerda Saxer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Dictyostelium Discoideum ◽  
Sequence Variation ◽  
Social Amoeba ◽  
Coding Sequence ◽  
Amino Acid Repeats ◽  
The Social

scholarly journals Microbe Profile: Dictyostelium discoideum: model system for development, chemotaxis and biomedical research

Microbiology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine J. Pears ◽  
Julian D. Gross
Keyword(s):  
Pattern Formation ◽  
Cell Motility ◽  
Dictyostelium Discoideum ◽  
Biomedical Research ◽  
Model System ◽  
Developmental Pattern ◽  
Social Amoeba ◽  
The Social ◽  
Host Pathogen ◽  
Soil Amoeba

The social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum is a versatile organism that is unusual in alternating between single-celled and multi-celled forms. It possesses highly-developed systems for cell motility and chemotaxis, phagocytosis, and developmental pattern formation. As a soil amoeba growing on microorganisms, it is exposed to many potential pathogens; it thus provides fruitful ways of investigating host-pathogen interactions and is emerging as an influential model for biomedical research.

scholarly journals Role of epigenetics in unicellular to multicellular transition in Dictyostelium

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Yuan Wang ◽  
Elizabeth Ann Pollina ◽  
I-Hao Wang ◽  
Lindsay Kristina Pino ◽  
Henry L. Bushnell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dictyostelium Discoideum ◽  
Orthologous Gene ◽  
Chromatin Accessibility ◽  
Critical Event ◽  
H3k4 Methylation ◽  
Social Amoeba ◽  
The Social ◽  
Conserved Genes ◽  
Multicellular Organisms

Abstract Background The evolution of multicellularity is a critical event that remains incompletely understood. We use the social amoeba, Dictyostelium discoideum, one of the rare organisms that readily transits back and forth between both unicellular and multicellular stages, to examine the role of epigenetics in regulating multicellularity. Results While transitioning to multicellular states, patterns of H3K4 methylation and H3K27 acetylation significantly change. By combining transcriptomics, epigenomics, chromatin accessibility, and orthologous gene analyses with other unicellular and multicellular organisms, we identify 52 conserved genes, which are specifically accessible and expressed during multicellular states. We validated that four of these genes, including the H3K27 deacetylase hdaD, are necessary and that an SMC-like gene, smcl1, is sufficient for multicellularity in Dictyostelium. Conclusions These results highlight the importance of epigenetics in reorganizing chromatin architecture to facilitate multicellularity in Dictyostelium discoideum and raise exciting possibilities about the role of epigenetics in the evolution of multicellularity more broadly.

scholarly journals (Auto)Biographical reflections on the contributions of William F. Loomis (1940-2016) to Dictyostelium biology

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (8-9-10) ◽  
pp. 343-357
Author(s):  
Adam Kuspa ◽  
Gad Shaulsky
Keyword(s):  
Cell Differentiation ◽  
Molecular Biology ◽  
Genetic Control ◽  
Dictyostelium Discoideum ◽  
University Of California ◽  
High Dimensional ◽  
Social Amoeba ◽  
The Social ◽  
The University ◽  
High Dimensional Datasets

William Farnsworth Loomis studied the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum for more than fifty years as a professor of biology at the University of California, San Diego, USA. This biographical reflection describes Dr. Loomis’ major scientific contributions to the field within a career arc that spanned the early days of molecular biology up to the present day where the acquisition of high-dimensional datasets drive research. Dr. Loomis explored the genetic control of social amoeba development, delineated mechanisms of cell differentiation, and significantly advanced genetic and genomic technology for the field. The details of Dr. Loomis’ multifaceted career are drawn from his published work, from an autobiographical essay that he wrote near the end of his career and from extensive conversations between him and the two authors, many of which took place on the deck of his beachfront home in Del Mar, California.

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