Mind the gap: a comparative study of migratory behavior in social amoebae

Authors

Owen M. Gilbert
Jennie J. Kuzdzal-Fick, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
David C. Queller, Washington University in St LouisFollow
Joan E. Strassmann, Washington University in St LouisFollow

Author's Department

Biology

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2012

Abstract

Social amoebae aggregate to form a multicellular slug that migrates some distance. Most species produce a stalk during migration, but some do not. We show that Dictyostelium giganteum, a species that produces stalk during migration, is able to traverse small gaps and utilize bacterial resources following gap traversal by shedding live cells. In contrast, we found that Dictyostelium discoideum, a species that does not produce stalk during migration, can traverse gaps only when in the presence of other species’ stalks or other thin filaments. These findings suggest that production of stalk during migration allows traversal of gaps that commonly occurs in soil and leaf litter. Considering the functional consequences of a stalked migration may be important for explaining the evolutionary maintenance or loss of a stalked migration.

Comments

Postprint version. Published in Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. Copyright © 2012 Springer-Verlag. The original publication is available at DOI: 10.1007/s00265-012-1383-7

Recommended Citation

Gilbert, Owen M.; Kuzdzal-Fick, Jennie J.; Queller, David C.; and Strassmann, Joan E., "Mind the gap: a comparative study of migratory behavior in social amoebae" (2012). Biology Faculty Publications & Presentations. 14.
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/bio_facpubs/14

Embargo Period

7-27-2012