scholarly journals Reactive/Less-cooperative individuals advance population’s synchronization: Modeling of Dictyostelium discoideum concerted signaling during aggregation phase

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. e0259742
Author(s):  
Zahra Eidi ◽  
Najme Khorasani ◽  
Mehdi Sadeghi
Keyword(s):  
Dictyostelium Discoideum ◽  
Life Form ◽  
Single Cells ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Chemical Signaling ◽  
Relative Population ◽  
Social Amoeba ◽  
The Social ◽  
Chemical Waves ◽  
The Waves

Orchestrated chemical signaling of single cells sounds to be a linchpin of emerging organization and multicellular life form. The social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum is a well-studied model organism to explore overall pictures of grouped behavior in developmental biology. The chemical waves secreted by aggregating Dictyostelium is a superb example of pattern formation. The waves are either circular or spiral in shape, according to the incremental population density of a self-aggregating community of individuals. Here, we revisit the spatiotemporal patterns that appear in an excitable medium due to synchronization of randomly firing individuals, but with a more parsimonious attitude. According to our model, a fraction of these individuals are less involved in amplifying external stimulants. Our simulations indicate that the cells enhance the system’s asymmetry and as a result, nucleate early sustainable spiral territory zones, provided that their relative population does not exceed a tolerable threshold.

scholarly journals Reactive/Non-cooperative individuals advance Population's Synchronization: Modeling of Dictyostelium discoideum Concerted Signaling during Aggregation Phase

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zahra Eidi ◽  
Najme Khorasani ◽  
Mehdi Sadeghi
Keyword(s):  
Life Form ◽  
Single Cells ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Spatiotemporal Patterns ◽  
Chemical Signaling ◽  
Relative Population ◽  
Social Amoeba ◽  
The Social ◽  
Chemical Waves ◽  
The Waves

Orchestrated chemical signaling of single cells sounds to be a linchpin of emerging organization and multicellular life form. The social amoeba Dictiostelium discoiudium is a well-studied model organism to explore overall pictures of grouped behavior in developmental biology. The chemical waves secreted by aggregating Dictiostelium is a superb example of pattern formation. The waves are either circular or spiral in shape, according to the incremental population density of a self-aggregating community of individuals. Here, we revisit the spatiotemporal patterns that appear in an excitable medium due to synchronization of randomly firing individuals, but with a more parsimonies attitude. According to our model, a fraction of these individuals is refusal to amplify external stimulants. Our simulations indicate that the cells enhance the system's asymmetry and as a result, nucleate early sustainable spiral territory zones, provided that their relative population does not exceed a tolerable threshold.

scholarly journals Structured growth and genetic drift raise relatedness in the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 794-797 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil J. Buttery ◽  
Chandra N. Jack ◽  
Boahemaa Adu-Oppong ◽  
Kate T. Snyder ◽  
Christopher R. L. Thompson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dictyostelium Discoideum ◽  
Genetic Drift ◽  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Single Cells ◽  
Small Population ◽  
Recognition Mechanism ◽  
Short Supply ◽  
Social Amoeba ◽  
The Social

One condition for the evolution of altruism is genetic relatedness between altruist and beneficiary, often achieved through active kin recognition. Here, we investigate the power of a passive process resulting from genetic drift during population growth in the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum . We put labelled and unlabelled cells of the same clone in the centre of a plate, and allowed them to proliferate outward. Zones formed by genetic drift owing to the small population of actively growing cells at the colony edge. We also found that single cells could form zones of high relatedness. Relatedness increased at a significantly higher rate when food was in short supply. This study shows that relatedness can be significantly elevated before the social stage without a small founding population size or recognition mechanism.

scholarly journals Sex Determination in the Social Amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum

Science ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 330 (6010) ◽  
pp. 1533-1536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gareth Bloomfield ◽  
Jason Skelton ◽  
Alasdair Ivens ◽  
Yoshimasa Tanaka ◽  
Robert R. Kay
Keyword(s):  
Sex Determination ◽  
Dictyostelium Discoideum ◽  
Genetic Locus ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Mating Types ◽  
Type Locus ◽  
Social Amoeba ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Amoebae

The genetics of sex determination remain mysterious in many organisms, including some that are otherwise well studied. Here we report the discovery and analysis of the mating-type locus of the model organism Dictyostelium discoideum. Three forms of a single genetic locus specify this species' three mating types: two versions of the locus are entirely different in sequence, and the third resembles a composite of the other two. Single, unrelated genes are sufficient to determine two of the mating types, whereas homologs of both these genes are required in the composite type. The key genes encode polypeptides that possess no recognizable similarity to established protein families. Sex determination in the social amoebae thus appears to use regulators that are unrelated to any others currently known.

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.

scholarly journals Methods to Monitor and Quantify Autophagy in the Social Amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum

Cells ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eunice Domínguez-Martín ◽  
Elena Cardenal-Muñoz ◽  
Jason King ◽  
Thierry Soldati ◽  
Roberto Coria ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dictyostelium Discoideum ◽  
Social Amoeba ◽  
The Social
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