Chemotaxis of aggregating <span class='italic'>Dictyostelium</span> cells

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511546204.006

4 - Chemotaxis of aggregating Dictyostelium cells

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 August 2009

G. Gerisch and

M. Ecke

Edited by

Manuel Marí-Beffa and

Jennifer Knight

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G. Gerisch: Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für Biochimie, Am Klopferspitz 18a, D-82152 Martinsried, Germany
M. Ecke: Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für Biochimie, Am Klopferspitz 18a, D-82152 Martinsried, Germany
Manuel Marí-Beffa: Affiliation:
Universidad de Málaga, Spain
Jennifer Knight: Affiliation:
University of Colorado, Boulder

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Summary

OBJECTIVE OF THE EXPERIMENT In the course of Dictyostelium development, a multicellular organism is established by the aggregation of single cells. In the following experiment, the chemoattractant that guides cell movement in an aggregation field is replaced by treating cells with cyclic AMP diffusing out of a micropipette. By the use of a micropipette that is easily moved by a micromanipulator, the direction of diffusion gradients can be changed fast enough to study the response of the cells within the first few seconds of reorientation.

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY The cultivation of Dictyostelium and preparation of chemotactically responsive cells is easy. Manipulation of the micropipette requires some skill and endurance.

INTRODUCTION

Prokaryotic as well as eukaryotic cells are capable of responding to concentration radients of chemical compounds, but the mechanisms of their orientation within these gradients are different. The best studied examples are bacteria that swim by flagella rotation and eukaryotic cells that migrate by actin-based shape changes on a substrate surface. Bacteria such as Escherichia coli or Salmonella strains control the rotation of their flagella motors: counterclockwise rotation results in smooth swimming by bundled flagellae, whereas clockwise rotation leads to tumbling caused by separation of the flagellae. These small bacterial cells use temporal changes of chemoattractant to find the source of a gradient: when they swim toward the source, concentration will increase with time and tumbling is suppressed. The tumbling frequency is increased when bacteria swim in the opposite direction.

Type: Chapter
Information: Key Experiments in Practical Developmental Biology , pp. 50 - 66

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511546204.006 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2005

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