Summary
Dictyostelium slugs are able to respond to environmental stimuli in an extremely sensitive and efficient way. This enables a slug to migrate to more favourable locations for formation of fruiting bodies and dispersal of spores. Phototaxis is a readily assayed phenotype and reflects the interactions of environmental stimuli with morphogenetic signalling systems controlling the movement of the slug. The methods for assaying phototaxis are described here. Qualitative phototaxis tests are described and can be used for rapid screening of potential mutants or effects of pharmacological agents. These tests are simple to conduct yet care must be taken in order to avoid the effects of high cell density which can be misleading when interpreting results. Quantitative phototaxis tests can be performed with known cell densities of amoebae which ensures that any effects seen are caused by the mutation or pharmacological agent and not simply due to differences in cell densities.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Fisher, P. R. (2001) Genetic analysis of phototaxis in Dictyostelium, in Photomovement. ESP Comprehensive Series in Photosciences Vol 1. (Häder, D.-P. and Lebert, M., eds.), Elsevier, Amsterdam: pp. 519–559.
Poff, K. L. and Häder, D.-P. (1984) An action spectrum for phototaxis by pseudoplasmodia of Dictyostelium discoideum. Photochem. Photobiol. 39, 433–436.
Raper, K. B. (1940) Pseudoplasmodium formation and organization in Dictyostelium discoideum. J. Elisha Mitchell Sci. Soc. 56, 241–282.
Bonner, J. T., Clarke, W. W., Neely, C. L., and Slifkin, M. K. (1950) The orientation to light and the extremely sensitive orientation to temperature gradients in the slime mould Dictyostelium discoideum. J. Cell. Compar. Physiol. 36, 149–158.
Francis, D. W. (1964) Some studies on phototaxis of Dictyostelium. J. Cell. Comp. Physiol. 64, 131–138.
Fisher, P. R. and Williams, K. L. (1981) Bidirectional phototaxis by Dictyostelium discoideum slugs. FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 12, 87–89.
Fisher, P. R., Smith, E., and Williams, K. L. (1981) An extracellular chemical signal controlling phototactic behavior by D. discoideum slugs. Cell 23, 799–807.
Darcy, P. K. and Fisher, P. R. (1989) A role for G–proteins and inositol phosphate signalling in Dictyostelium discoideum slug behaviour. J. Gen. Microbiol. 135, 1909–1915.
Darcy, P. K. and Fisher, P. R. (1990) Pharmacological evidence for a role for cAMP signalling in Dictyostelium discoideum slug behaviour. J. Cell Sci. 96, 661–667.
Darcy, P. K., Wilczynska, Z., and Fisher, P. R. (1994) The role of cGMP in photosensory and thermosensory transduction in Dictyostelium discoideum. Microbiol. 140, 1619–1632.
Dohrmann, U., Fisher P. R., Bruderlein, M., and Williams, K. L. (1983) Transitions in Dictyostelium discoideum behaviour: influence of calcium and fluoride on slug phototaxis and thermotaxis. J. Cell Sci. 65, 111–121.
Wilkins, A., Khosla, M., Fraser, D. J., Spiegelman, G. B., Fisher, P. R., Weeks, G., and Insall, R. H. (2000) Dictyostelium RasD is required for normal phototaxis, but not differentiation. Genes Devel. 14, 1407–1413.
Wilkins, A., Szafranski, K., Fraser, D. J., Bakthavatsalam, D., Muller, R., Fisher, P. R. et al. (2005) The Dictyostelium genome encodes numerous RasGEFs with multiple biological roles. BMC Genome Biol. 6, R68.
Bandala-Sanchez, E., Annesley, S.J., and Fisher, P. R. (2006) A phototaxis signalling complex in Dictyostelium discoideum. Eur. J. Cell Biol. 85, 1099–1106.
Stocker, S., Hiery, M., and Marriot, G. (1999) Phototactic migration of Dictyostelium cells is linked to a new type of gelsolin-related protein. Mol. Biol. Cell 10, 161–178.
Gloss, A., Rivero, F., Khaire, N., Muler, R., Loomis, W. F., Schleicher, M., and Noegel, A. A. (2003) Villidin, a novel WD-repeat and villin–related protein from Dictyostelium, is associated with membranes and the cytoskeleton. Mol. Biol. Cell 14, 2716–2727.
Noegel, A. A., Blau-Wasser, R., Sultana, H., Israel, L., Schleicher, M., Patel, H., and Weijer, C. J. (2004) The cyclase-associated protein CAP as regulator of cell polarity and cAMP signalling in Dictyostelium. Mol. Biol. Cell 15, 934–945.
Fisher, P. R., Noegel, A. A., Fechheimer, M., Rivero, F., Prassler, J., and Gerisch, G. (1997) Photosensory and thermosensory responses in Dictyostelium slugs are specifically impaired by absence of the F-actin cross-linking gelation factor (ABP-120). Curr. Biol. 7, 889–892.
Knuth, M., Khaire, N., Kuspa, A., Lu, S. J., Schleicher, M., and Noegel, A. A. (2004) A novel partner for Dictyostelium filamin is an α-helical developmentally regulated protein. J. Cell Sci. 117, 5013–5022.
Fisher, P. R. and Annesley, S. J. (2006) Slug phototaxis, thermotaxis and spontaneous turning behaviour, in Methods in Molecular Biology: Dictyostelium discoideum Protocols, Vol 346, (Eichinger, L. and Rivero, F., eds.), Humana Press, Totowa, NJ, pp. 137–170.
Annesley, S. J., Bandala-Sanchez, E., Ahmed, A. U., and Fisher, P. R. (2007) Filamin repeat segments required for photosensory signalling in Dictyostelium discoideum. BMC Cell Biol. 8, 48.
This work was supported by the Thyne Reid Memorial Trusts.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Humana Press
About this protocol
Cite this protocol
Annesley, S.J., Fisher, P.R. (2009). Dictyostelium Slug Phototaxis. In: Jin, T., Hereld, D. (eds) Chemotaxis. Methods in Molecular Biology™, vol 571. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60761-198-1_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60761-198-1_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ
Print ISBN: 978-1-60761-197-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-60761-198-1
eBook Packages: Springer Protocols