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A predatory slime mould

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Abstract

I report here the discovery of a single isolate of a new species of cellular slime mould, Dictyostelium caveatum, in bat guano from Blanchard Springs Cavern, Arkansas. Amoebae of this species form common aggregates with all species that have been tested and interfere with their morphogenesis in a dramatic way. The D. caveatum amoebae induce a delay of morphogenesis while they consume all of the amoebae of the other species by phagocytosis. Morphogenesis is reinitiated and fruiting bodies containing only D. caveatum spores are erected.

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Author notes

  1. David R. Waddell

    Present address: Max-Planck-Institut für Biochemie, D-8033, Martinsried bei München, FRG

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, 08544, USA

    David R. Waddell

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  1. David R. Waddell
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Waddell, D. A predatory slime mould. Nature 298, 464–466 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/298464a0

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