Tradeoffs and Social Behaviour in the Cellular Slime Moulds S

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Tradeoffs and Social Behaviour in the Cellular Slime Moulds S Tradeoffs and social behaviour in the cellular slime moulds S. Sathe To cite this version: S. Sathe. Tradeoffs and social behaviour in the cellular slime moulds. Life Sciences [q-bio]. Indian Institute of Science, 2012. English. tel-01052814 HAL Id: tel-01052814 https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01052814 Submitted on 28 Jul 2014 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Trade­offs and social behaviour in the cellular slime moulds A Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Science by Santosh Sathe Centre for Ecological Sciences Indian Institute of Science Bangalore‐ 560012 INDIA October 2011 DECLARATION I hereby declare that the work reported in this thesis titled, “Trade‐offs and social behaviour in the cellular slime moulds” is the result of investigations carried out by me at the Centre for Ecological Sciences (CES), Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, under the supervision of Prof. Vidyanand Nanjundiah. I further declare that this work has not formed the basis for an award of any degree, diploma or fellowship in any institution. October 2011 Santosh Sathe Dedicated to Tai and Nana..... Acknowledgments I would like to express my genuine gratefulness to my thesis advisor Prof. Vidyanand Nanjundiah for his support and encouragement throughout this work. His expertise and understanding of the subject was extremely useful while solving many issues mentioned in this thesis. His help in writing reports, conference abstracts, research publications and this thesis is duly acknowledged. I acknowledge the senior research fellowship (SRF) from Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and the financial assistance from Indian Institute of Science, India. I would also like to thank “German Genetics society” and the “Japan Society for the Promotion of Science in Japan” for financial support during my stay in Germany and Japan for attending conferences on Dictyostelium. Very special thanks go out to Dr. Aggarwal and his research group for their help and allowing me to work at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (Hyderabad). Many thanks to Neha for her assistance in performing some of the experiments mentioned in chapter 4 of this thesis. Many helpful suggestions from Prof. R. Borges, Prof. J. T. Bonner, Prof. C. Nizak, Prof. N. Joshi, Anusha and Mahua helped to improve the quality of this thesis. Uveraj, Brijesh and Lakshya thank you for helping me during my colloquium. Prof. Mahadevan, a very lively person, was a constant source of encouragement and always ready to spend time with me; discussions with him on scientific as well as non‐scientific issues were very useful. I would like to thank my teachers from the Ahmednagar College and the University of Pune (especially Dr. Deopurkar). I was fortunate to have intelligent seniors in the laboratory (Ritwick, Nameeta, Stuti, Sanki, Ranjna, Aashiq, and Smita); I would like to thank all of them for their help and guidance. My stay at IISc was joyful and this is because of the social environment created by many of my good friends. It will not be possible to mention all the names; here are a just few of them: Vinod, Navanath, Prasad, Ravi, Pooja, Ritesh, Sharad, Manoj, Savita, Jassi, Dubey, Kaka, Alok, Manjari, Ratna, Smita and Soumya. I would like to thank all the faculties from CES and MRDG. I also extend my thanks to the department staff that have helped in numerous ways: Basavraj, Bharathi, Selveraj, Raghvendra, Lakshmi, and Anathu. I am very thankful to all the members of DBGL. Special thanks to the IISc hockey club, C and B mess members and several friends over there. The names mentioned here are very special people in my life; their presence meant a lot to me. Thank you very very very much Sandip, Mahua, Hari, Neeraja and Femi. Finally, I would like to thank my family for the support they have provided to me throughout my entire life; without their love and encouragement I would not have come this far. I sincerely apologize to all whose names have been missed inadvertently. The defects remaining in this thesis are unintentional and my responsibility alone. Publications 1. Sathe, S., et al., 2010. Genetic heterogeneity in wild isolates of cellular slime mold social groups. Microb Ecol. 60, 137-48. 2. Sathe, S., Khetan, N. and Nanjundiah, V., 2014. Interspecies and intraspecies interactions in social amoebae. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 27: 349–362. 3. Nanjundiah, V., Sathe, S., 2011. Social selection and the evolution of cooperative groups: The example of the cellular slime moulds. Integr. Biol. 3, 329-342. 4. Nanjundiah, V., Sathe, S., 2013. Social selection in the cellular slime moulds. In: Dictyostelids: Evolution, Genomics and Cell Biology (M. Romeralo, S. Baldauf & R. Escalante, eds). Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, pp. 193–217. 5. Sathe, S., et al., 2011. Development of twelve polymorphic microsatellite markers from the social amoeba Dictyostelium giganteum suitable for genetic diversity studies on cellular slime moulds (Permanent Genetic Resources added to Molecular Ecology Resources Database 1 August 2010 – 30 September 2010). Molecular Ecology Resources. 11, 219-222. 6. Sathe, S., Nanjundiah, V., Trade-offs as a basis for cooperation in a social amoeba (in preparation). Index TABLE OF CONTENTS Synopsis…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...1 Chapter 1: Cooperative behaviour in the social amoebae. 1.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………6 1.2 Glossary……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….7 1.3 Examples of cooperative behaviour………………………………………………………………………8 1.4 Evolutionary explanations for cooperation……………………………………………………………9 1.5 Cellular slime moulds…………………………………………………………………………………………13 1.6 Survival strategies……………………………………………………………………………………………...15 1.7 ‘Altruistic’ behaviour in CSMs……………………………………………………………………………..21 1.8 References…………………………………………………………………………………………………………30 Chapter 2: Large mammals as dispersal agents and genetic heterogeneity in wild isolates. 2.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………….40 2.2 Cellular slime moulds in nature…………………………………………………………………………..41 2.3 Cellular slime moulds from India………………………………………………………………………...42 2.4 Dispersal vectors………………………………………………………………………………………………..43 2.5 Diversity in the wild and genetic heterogeneity within social groups……………………45 2.6 Materials and methods……………………………………………………………………………………….50 2.6.1 Sample collection………………………………………………………………………………….50 2.6.2 Isolation of CSMs from animal dung and soil………………………………………….53 2.6.3 Estimating genetic heterogeneity within fruiting bodies…………………………54 2.6.4 DNA isolation………………………………………………………………………………………..55 2.6.5 Random Amplification of Polymorphic DNA…………………………………………...55 2.6.6 Isolation of bacteria………………………………………………………………………………56 2.6.7 Identification of bacterial isolates………………………………………………………….57 2.6.8 Statistical analysis................................................................................................................57 2.7 Results……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….59 Index 2.7.1 Presence of CSM in large mammal dung…………………………………………………59 2.7.2 CSMs from soil………………………………………………………………………………………63 2.7.3 Genetic heterogeneity in CSM social groups……………………………………………70 2.7.4 Bacteria from Mudumalai forest soil………………………………………………………73 2.8 Discussion………………………………………………………………………………………………………….74 2.8.1 Large mammals as CSM dispersal agents………………………………………………..74 2.8.2 Genetic diversity in fruiting bodies………………………………………………………...76 2.9 References………………………………………………………………………………………………………....81 Chapter 3: Trade­offs as a basis for cooperation and coexistence in Dictyostelium giganteum. 3.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………….86 3.2 Materials and methods…………………………………………………………………………………….....88 3.2.1 D. giganteum strains.……………………………………………………………………………..88 3.2.2 Growth.………………………………………………………………………………………………...89 3.2.3 Developmental rate.………………………………………………………………………………91 3.2.4 Slug migration through soil.…………………………………………………………………..92 3.2.5 Sporulation efficiency in mixtures.…………………………………………………………93 3.3 Results.………………………………………………………………………………………………………………95 3.3.1 Growth.………………………………………………………………………………………………...95 3.3.2 Post‐starvation developmental rate.………………………………………………………96 3.3.3 Slug migration through soil.…………………………………………………………………..99 3.3.4 Sporulation efficiency.…………………………………………………………………………103 3.4 Discussion.……………………………………………………………………………………………………….110 3.4.1 Caveats.………………………………………………………………………………………………110 3.4.2 Trade‐offs.…………………………………………………………………………………………..113 3.4.3 How does this study help us to understand cooperation in Dictyostelium giganteum?...........................................................................................................................115 3.5 References………………………………………………………………………………………………............119 Index Chapter 4: Chimaerism and segregation in inter­species mixtures of Dictyostelium purpureum and D. giganteum. 4.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………….123 4.2 Inter‐species interactions…………………………………………………………………………………123 4.3 Materials and
Recommended publications
  • Structural and Functional Characterization of the Fimh Adhesin of Uropathogenic Escherichia Coli and Its Novel Applications
    Open Access Journal of Bacteriology and Mycology Research Article Structural and Functional Characterization of the FimH Adhesin of Uropathogenic Escherichia coli and Its Novel Applications Neamati F1, Moniri R2*, Khorshidi A1 and Saffari M1 Abstract 1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School Type 1 fimbriae are responsible for bacterial pathogenicity and biofilm of Medicine, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, production, which are important virulence factors in uropathogenic Escherichia Kashan, Iran coli strains. Many articles are published on FimH, but each examined a specific 2Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, aspect of this protein. The current review study aimed at focusing on structure Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Qutb Ravandi and conformational changes and describing efforts to use this protein in novel Boulevard, Kashan, Iran potential treatments for urinary tract infections, typing methods, and expression *Corresponding author: Moniri R, Department of systems. The current study was the first review that briefly and effectively Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kashan University of examined issues related to FimH adhesin. Medical Sciences, Qutb Ravandi Boulevard, Kashan, Iran Keywords: Uropathogenic E. coli; FimH Adhesion; FimH Typing; Received: June 05, 2020; Accepted: July 03, 2020; Conformation Switch; FimH Antagonists Published: July 10, 2020 Abbreviations FimH proteins play important roles in UPEC pathogenicity and the formation of bacterial biofilms [7]. FimH binds to mannosylated UTIs: Urinary Tract Infections; UPEC: Uropathogenic E. uroplakin proteins in the bladder lumen and invades into the Coli; IBCs: Intracellular Bacterial Communities; QIR: Quiescent superficial umbrella cells [8]. After the invasion, UPEC is expelled out Intracellular Reservoir; LD: Mannose-Binding Lectin; PD: Fimbria- of the cell in a TLR4 dependent process, or escape into the cytoplasm Incorporating Pilin; MBP: Mannose-Binding Pocket; LIBS: Ligand- [9].
    [Show full text]
  • Protozoologica Special Issue: Protists in Soil Processes
    Acta Protozool. (2012) 51: 201–208 http://www.eko.uj.edu.pl/ap ActA doi:10.4467/16890027AP.12.016.0762 Protozoologica Special issue: Protists in Soil Processes Review paper Ecology of Soil Eumycetozoans Steven L. STEPHENSON1 and Alan FEEST2 1Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; 2Institute of Advanced Studies, University of Bristol and Ecosulis ltd., Newton St Loe, Bath, United Kingdom Abstract. Eumycetozoans, commonly referred to as slime moulds, are common to abundant organisms in soils. Three groups of slime moulds (myxogastrids, dictyostelids and protostelids) are recognized, and the first two of these are among the most important bacterivores in the soil microhabitat. The purpose of this paper is first to provide a brief description of all three groups and then to review what is known about their distribution and ecology in soils. Key words: Amoebae, bacterivores, dictyostelids, myxogastrids, protostelids. INTRODUCTION that they are amoebozoans and not fungi (Bapteste et al. 2002, Yoon et al. 2008, Baudalf 2008). Three groups of slime moulds (myxogastrids, dic- One of the idiosyncratic branches of the eukary- tyostelids and protostelids) are recognized (Olive 1970, otic tree of life consists of an assemblage of amoe- 1975). Members of the three groups exhibit consider- boid protists referred to as the supergroup Amoebozoa able diversity in the type of aerial spore-bearing struc- (Fiore-Donno et al. 2010). The most diverse members tures produced, which can range from exceedingly of the Amoebozoa are the eumycetozoans, common- small examples (most protostelids) with only a single ly referred to as slime moulds. Since their discovery, spore to the very largest examples (certain myxogas- slime moulds have been variously classified as plants, trids) that contain many millions of spores.
    [Show full text]
  • Comparative Genomics of the Social Amoebae Dictyostelium Discoideum
    Sucgang et al. Genome Biology 2011, 12:R20 http://genomebiology.com/2011/12/2/R20 RESEARCH Open Access Comparative genomics of the social amoebae Dictyostelium discoideum and Dictyostelium purpureum Richard Sucgang1†, Alan Kuo2†, Xiangjun Tian3†, William Salerno1†, Anup Parikh4, Christa L Feasley5, Eileen Dalin2, Hank Tu2, Eryong Huang4, Kerrie Barry2, Erika Lindquist2, Harris Shapiro2, David Bruce2, Jeremy Schmutz2, Asaf Salamov2, Petra Fey6, Pascale Gaudet6, Christophe Anjard7, M Madan Babu8, Siddhartha Basu6, Yulia Bushmanova6, Hanke van der Wel5, Mariko Katoh-Kurasawa4, Christopher Dinh1, Pedro M Coutinho9, Tamao Saito10, Marek Elias11, Pauline Schaap12, Robert R Kay8, Bernard Henrissat9, Ludwig Eichinger13, Francisco Rivero14, Nicholas H Putnam3, Christopher M West5, William F Loomis7, Rex L Chisholm6, Gad Shaulsky3,4, Joan E Strassmann3, David C Queller3, Adam Kuspa1,3,4* and Igor V Grigoriev2 Abstract Background: The social amoebae (Dictyostelia) are a diverse group of Amoebozoa that achieve multicellularity by aggregation and undergo morphogenesis into fruiting bodies with terminally differentiated spores and stalk cells. There are four groups of dictyostelids, with the most derived being a group that contains the model species Dictyostelium discoideum. Results: We have produced a draft genome sequence of another group dictyostelid, Dictyostelium purpureum, and compare it to the D. discoideum genome. The assembly (8.41 × coverage) comprises 799 scaffolds totaling 33.0 Mb, comparable to the D. discoideum genome size. Sequence comparisons suggest that these two dictyostelids shared a common ancestor approximately 400 million years ago. In spite of this divergence, most orthologs reside in small clusters of conserved synteny. Comparative analyses revealed a core set of orthologous genes that illuminate dictyostelid physiology, as well as differences in gene family content.
    [Show full text]
  • Zygote Gene Expression and Plasmodial Development in Didymium Iridis
    DePaul University Via Sapientiae College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations College of Science and Health Summer 8-25-2019 Zygote gene expression and plasmodial development in Didymium iridis Sean Schaefer DePaul University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/csh_etd Part of the Biology Commons Recommended Citation Schaefer, Sean, "Zygote gene expression and plasmodial development in Didymium iridis" (2019). College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations. 322. https://via.library.depaul.edu/csh_etd/322 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Science and Health at Via Sapientiae. It has been accepted for inclusion in College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Via Sapientiae. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Zygote gene expression and plasmodial development in Didymium iridis A Thesis presented in Partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Biology By Sean Schaefer 2019 Advisor: Dr. Margaret Silliker Department of Biological Sciences College of Liberal Arts and Sciences DePaul University Chicago, IL Abstract: Didymium iridis is a cosmopolitan species of plasmodial slime mold consisting of two distinct life stages. Haploid amoebae and diploid plasmodia feed on microscopic organisms such as bacteria and fungi through phagocytosis. Sexually compatible haploid amoebae act as gametes which when fused embark on an irreversible developmental change resulting in a diploid zygote. The zygote can undergo closed mitosis resulting in a multinucleated plasmodium. Little is known about changes in gene expression during this developmental transition. Our principal goal in this study was to provide a comprehensive list of genes likely to be involved in plasmodial development.
    [Show full text]
  • Identification of Type 3 Fimbriae in Uropathogenic Escherichia Coli
    JOURNAL OF BACTERIOLOGY, Feb. 2008, p. 1054–1063 Vol. 190, No. 3 0021-9193/08/$08.00ϩ0 doi:10.1128/JB.01523-07 Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved. Identification of Type 3 Fimbriae in Uropathogenic Escherichia coli Reveals a Role in Biofilm Formationᰔ Cheryl-Lynn Y. Ong,1 Glen C. Ulett,1 Amanda N. Mabbett,1 Scott A. Beatson,1 Richard I. Webb,2 Wayne Monaghan,3 Graeme R. Nimmo,3 David F. Looke,4 1 1 Alastair G. McEwan, and Mark A. Schembri * Downloaded from School of Molecular and Microbial Sciences1 and Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis,2 University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, and Queensland Health Pathology Service3 and Infection Management Services, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Australia4 Received 21 September 2007/Accepted 17 November 2007 Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) is the most common nosocomial infection in the United States. Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC), the most common cause of CAUTI, can form biofilms on indwelling catheters. Here, we identify and characterize novel factors that affect biofilm formation by UPEC http://jb.asm.org/ strains that cause CAUTI. Sixty-five CAUTI UPEC isolates were characterized for phenotypic markers of urovirulence, including agglutination and biofilm formation. One isolate, E. coli MS2027, was uniquely proficient at biofilm growth despite the absence of adhesins known to promote this phenotype. Mini-Tn5 mutagenesis of E. coli MS2027 identified several mutants with altered biofilm growth. Mutants containing insertions in genes involved in O antigen synthesis (rmlC and manB) and capsule synthesis (kpsM) possessed enhanced biofilm phenotypes. Three independent mutants deficient in biofilm growth contained an insertion in a gene locus homologous to the type 3 chaperone-usher class fimbrial genes of Klebsiella pneumoniae.
    [Show full text]
  • A Novel Structure Learning Algorithm for Bayesian Networks Inspired by Physarum Polycephalum
    Physarum Learner: A Novel Structure Learning Algorithm for Bayesian Networks inspired by Physarum Polycephalum DISSERTATION ZUR ERLANGUNG DES DOKTORGRADES DER NATURWISSENSCHAFTEN (DR. RER. NAT.) DER FAKULTAT¨ FUR¨ BIOLOGIE UND VORKLINISCHE MEDIZIN DER UNIVERSITAT¨ REGENSBURG vorgelegt von Torsten Schon¨ aus Wassertrudingen¨ im Jahr 2013 Der Promotionsgesuch wurde eingereicht am: 21.05.2013 Die Arbeit wurde angeleitet von: Prof. Dr. Elmar W. Lang Unterschrift: Torsten Schon¨ ii iii Abstract Two novel algorithms for learning Bayesian network structure from data based on the true slime mold Physarum polycephalum are introduced. The first algorithm called C- PhyL calculates pairwise correlation coefficients in the dataset. Within an initially fully connected Physarum-Maze, the length of the connections is given by the inverse correla- tion coefficient between the connected nodes. Then, the shortest indirect path between each two nodes is determined using the Physarum Solver. In each iteration, a score of the surviving edges is increased. Based on that score, the highest ranked connections are combined to form a Bayesian network. The novel C-PhyL method is evaluated with different configurations and compared to the LAGD Hill Climber, Tabu Search and Simu- lated Annealing on a set of artificially generated and real benchmark networks of different characteristics, showing comparable performance regarding quality of training results and increased time efficiency for large datasets. The second novel algorithm called SO-PhyL is introduced and shown to be able to out- perform common score based structure learning algorithms for some benchmark datasets. SO-PhyL first initializes a fully connected Physarum-Maze with constant length and ran- dom conductivities. In each Physarum Solver iteration, the source and sink nodes are changed randomly and the conductivities are updated.
    [Show full text]
  • A Revised Classification of Naked Lobose Amoebae (Amoebozoa
    Protist, Vol. 162, 545–570, October 2011 http://www.elsevier.de/protis Published online date 28 July 2011 PROTIST NEWS A Revised Classification of Naked Lobose Amoebae (Amoebozoa: Lobosa) Introduction together constitute the amoebozoan subphy- lum Lobosa, which never have cilia or flagella, Molecular evidence and an associated reevaluation whereas Variosea (as here revised) together with of morphology have recently considerably revised Mycetozoa and Archamoebea are now grouped our views on relationships among the higher-level as the subphylum Conosa, whose constituent groups of amoebae. First of all, establishing the lineages either have cilia or flagella or have lost phylum Amoebozoa grouped all lobose amoe- them secondarily (Cavalier-Smith 1998, 2009). boid protists, whether naked or testate, aerobic Figure 1 is a schematic tree showing amoebozoan or anaerobic, with the Mycetozoa and Archamoe- relationships deduced from both morphology and bea (Cavalier-Smith 1998), and separated them DNA sequences. from both the heterolobosean amoebae (Page and The first attempt to construct a congruent molec- Blanton 1985), now belonging in the phylum Per- ular and morphological system of Amoebozoa by colozoa - Cavalier-Smith and Nikolaev (2008), and Cavalier-Smith et al. (2004) was limited by the the filose amoebae that belong in other phyla lack of molecular data for many amoeboid taxa, (notably Cercozoa: Bass et al. 2009a; Howe et al. which were therefore classified solely on morpho- 2011). logical evidence. Smirnov et al. (2005) suggested The phylum Amoebozoa consists of naked and another system for naked lobose amoebae only; testate lobose amoebae (e.g. Amoeba, Vannella, this left taxa with no molecular data incertae sedis, Hartmannella, Acanthamoeba, Arcella, Difflugia), which limited its utility.
    [Show full text]
  • A Double, Long Polar Fimbria Mutant of Escherichia Coli O157:H7 Expresses Curli and Exhibits Reduced in Vivo Colonization
    A Double, Long Polar Fimbria Mutant of Escherichia coli O157:H7 Expresses Curli and Exhibits Reduced in Vivo Colonization The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Lloyd, Sonja J., Jennifer M. Ritchie, Maricarmen Rojas-Lopez, Carla A. Blumentritt, Vsevolod L. Popov, Jennifer L. Greenwich, Matthew K. Waldor, and Alfredo G. Torres. 2012. “A Double, Long Polar Fimbria Mutant of Escherichia Coli O157:H7 Expresses Curli and Exhibits ReducedIn VivoColonization.” Edited by S. M. Payne. Infection and Immunity 80 (3): 914–20. https://doi.org/10.1128/ iai.05945-11. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:41483527 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA A Double, Long Polar Fimbria Mutant of Escherichia coli O157:H7 Expresses Curli and Exhibits Reduced In Vivo Colonization Sonja J. Lloyd,a Jennifer M. Ritchie,d* Maricarmen Rojas-Lopez,a Carla A. Blumentritt,a Vsevolod L. Popov,b Jennifer L. Greenwich,d Matthew K. Waldor,d and Alfredo G. Torresa,b,c Departments of Microbiology and Immunologya and Pathologyb and Sealy Center for Vaccine Development,c University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA, and Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USAd Escherichia coli O157:H7 causes food and waterborne enteric infections that can result in hemorrhagic colitis and life- threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome.
    [Show full text]
  • The Social Amoeba Polysphondylium Pallidum Loses Encystation And
    Protist, Vol. 165, 569–579, September 2014 http://www.elsevier.de/protis Published online date 14 July 2014 ORIGINAL PAPER The Social Amoeba Polysphondylium pallidum Loses Encystation and Sporulation, but Can Still Erect Fruiting Bodies in the Absence of Cellulose 1 Qingyou Du, and Pauline Schaap College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, MSI/WTB/JBC complex, Dow Street, Dundee, DD15EH, UK Submitted May 20, 2014; Accepted July 8, 2014 Monitoring Editor: Michael Melkonian Amoebas and other freely moving protists differentiate into walled cysts when exposed to stress. As cysts, amoeba pathogens are resistant to biocides, preventing treatment and eradication. Lack of gene modification procedures has left the mechanisms of encystation largely unexplored. Genetically tractable Dictyostelium discoideum amoebas require cellulose synthase for formation of multicellular fructifications with cellulose-rich stalk and spore cells. Amoebas of its distant relative Polysphondylium pallidum (Ppal), can additionally encyst individually in response to stress. Ppal has two cellulose syn- thase genes, DcsA and DcsB, which we deleted individually and in combination. Dcsa- mutants formed fruiting bodies with normal stalks, but their spore and cyst walls lacked cellulose, which obliterated stress-resistance of spores and rendered cysts entirely non-viable. A dcsa-/dcsb- mutant made no walled spores, stalk cells or cysts, although simple fruiting structures were formed with a droplet of amoeboid cells resting on an sheathed column of decaying cells. DcsB is expressed in prestalk and stalk cells, while DcsA is additionally expressed in spores and cysts. We conclude that cellulose is essential for encystation and that cellulose synthase may be a suitable target for drugs to prevent encystation and render amoeba pathogens susceptible to conventional antibiotics.
    [Show full text]
  • Protistology an International Journal Vol
    Protistology An International Journal Vol. 10, Number 2, 2016 ___________________________________________________________________________________ CONTENTS INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC FORUM «PROTIST–2016» Yuri Mazei (Vice-Chairman) Welcome Address 2 Organizing Committee 3 Organizers and Sponsors 4 Abstracts 5 Author Index 94 Forum “PROTIST-2016” June 6–10, 2016 Moscow, Russia Website: http://onlinereg.ru/protist-2016 WELCOME ADDRESS Dear colleagues! Republic) entitled “Diplonemids – new kids on the block”. The third lecture will be given by Alexey The Forum “PROTIST–2016” aims at gathering Smirnov (Saint Petersburg State University, Russia): the researchers in all protistological fields, from “Phylogeny, diversity, and evolution of Amoebozoa: molecular biology to ecology, to stimulate cross- new findings and new problems”. Then Sandra disciplinary interactions and establish long-term Baldauf (Uppsala University, Sweden) will make a international scientific cooperation. The conference plenary presentation “The search for the eukaryote will cover a wide range of fundamental and applied root, now you see it now you don’t”, and the fifth topics in Protistology, with the major focus on plenary lecture “Protist-based methods for assessing evolution and phylogeny, taxonomy, systematics and marine water quality” will be made by Alan Warren DNA barcoding, genomics and molecular biology, (Natural History Museum, United Kingdom). cell biology, organismal biology, parasitology, diversity and biogeography, ecology of soil and There will be two symposia sponsored by ISoP: aquatic protists, bioindicators and palaeoecology. “Integrative co-evolution between mitochondria and their hosts” organized by Sergio A. Muñoz- The Forum is organized jointly by the International Gómez, Claudio H. Slamovits, and Andrew J. Society of Protistologists (ISoP), International Roger, and “Protists of Marine Sediments” orga- Society for Evolutionary Protistology (ISEP), nized by Jun Gong and Virginia Edgcomb.
    [Show full text]
  • Slime Moulds
    Queen’s University Biological Station Species List: Slime Molds The current list has been compiled by Richard Aaron, a naturalist and educator from Toronto, who has been running the Fabulous Fall Fungi workshop at QUBS between 2009 and 2019. Dr. Ivy Schoepf, QUBS Research Coordinator, edited the list in 2020 to include full taxonomy and information regarding species’ status using resources from The Natural Heritage Information Centre (April 2018) and The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (February 2018); iNaturalist and GBIF. Contact Ivy to report any errors, omissions and/or new sightings. Based on the aforementioned criteria we can expect to find a total of 33 species of slime molds (kingdom: Protozoa, phylum: Mycetozoa) present at QUBS. Species are Figure 1. One of the most commonly encountered reported using their full taxonomy; common slime mold at QUBS is the Dog Vomit Slime Mold (Fuligo septica). Slime molds are unique in the way name and status, based on whether the species is that they do not have cell walls. Unlike fungi, they of global or provincial concern (see Table 1 for also phagocytose their food before they digest it. details). All species are considered QUBS Photo courtesy of Mark Conboy. residents unless otherwise stated. Table 1. Status classification reported for the amphibians of QUBS. Global status based on IUCN Red List of Threatened Species rankings. Provincial status based on Ontario Natural Heritage Information Centre SRank. Global Status Provincial Status Extinct (EX) Presumed Extirpated (SX) Extinct in the
    [Show full text]
  • Biodiversity of Plasmodial Slime Moulds (Myxogastria): Measurement and Interpretation
    Protistology 1 (4), 161–178 (2000) Protistology August, 2000 Biodiversity of plasmodial slime moulds (Myxogastria): measurement and interpretation Yuri K. Novozhilova, Martin Schnittlerb, InnaV. Zemlianskaiac and Konstantin A. Fefelovd a V.L.Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia, b Fairmont State College, Fairmont, West Virginia, U.S.A., c Volgograd Medical Academy, Department of Pharmacology and Botany, Volgograd, Russia, d Ural State University, Department of Botany, Yekaterinburg, Russia Summary For myxomycetes the understanding of their diversity and of their ecological function remains underdeveloped. Various problems in recording myxomycetes and analysis of their diversity are discussed by the examples taken from tundra, boreal, and arid areas of Russia and Kazakhstan. Recent advances in inventory of some regions of these areas are summarised. A rapid technique of moist chamber cultures can be used to obtain quantitative estimates of myxomycete species diversity and species abundance. Substrate sampling and species isolation by the moist chamber technique are indispensable for myxomycete inventory, measurement of species richness, and species abundance. General principles for the analysis of myxomycete diversity are discussed. Key words: slime moulds, Mycetozoa, Myxomycetes, biodiversity, ecology, distribu- tion, habitats Introduction decay (Madelin, 1984). The life cycle of myxomycetes includes two trophic stages: uninucleate myxoflagellates General patterns of community structure of terrestrial or amoebae, and a multi-nucleate plasmodium (Fig. 1). macro-organisms (plants, animals, and macrofungi) are The entire plasmodium turns almost all into fruit bodies, well known. Some mathematics methods are used for their called sporocarps (sporangia, aethalia, pseudoaethalia, or studying, from which the most popular are the quantita- plasmodiocarps).
    [Show full text]