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

Gilbert, Owen M.; Kuzdzal‐Fick, Jennie J.; Queller, David C.; Strassmann, Joan E.

doi:10.1007/s00265-012-1383-7

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…If stalk height is crucial for dispersal, as suggested previously (Smith et al, 2014), then strains that allocate fewer cells to the stalk might experience trade-offs between the immediate benefits of producing more spores by reducing stalk allocation and the ability to disperse those spores to new locations. Although the phylogenetic conservation of the stalk across dictyostelids suggests that dispersal is probably an important fitness component in this organism, a caveat to this interpretation is that the stalk may serve a different function in other dictyostelid species, especially those that produce extensive, nonupright stalks of indeterminate size, for example, by helping the migratory slug to bridge gaps in the soil (Gilbert et al, 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stalk size and altruism investment within and among populations of the social amoeba

Votaw

Ostrowski

2017

J of Evolutionary Biology

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Reproductive division of labour is common in many societies, including those of eusocial insects, cooperatively breeding vertebrates, and most forms of multicellularity. However, conflict over what is best for the individual vs. the group can prevent an optimal division of labour from being achieved. In the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum, cells aggregate to become multicellular and a fraction behaves altruistically, forming a dead stalk that supports the rest. Theory suggests that intra-organismal conflict over spore-stalk cell fate can drive rapid evolutionary change in allocation traits, leading to polymorphisms within populations or rapid divergence between them. Here, we assess several proxies for stalk size and spore-stalk allocation as metrics of altruism investment among strains and across geographic regions. We observe geographic divergence in stalk height that can be partly explained by differences in multicellular size, as well as variation among strains in clonal spore-stalk allocation, suggesting within-population variation in altruism investment. Analyses of chimeras comprised of strains from the same vs. different populations indicated genotype-by-genotype epistasis, where the morphology of the chimeras deviated significantly from the average morphology of the strains developed clonally. The significantly negative epistasis observed for allopatric pairings suggests that populations are diverging in their spore-stalk allocation behaviours, generating incompatibilities when they encounter one another. Our results demonstrate divergence in microbial social traits across geographically separated populations and demonstrate how quantification of genotype-by-genotype interactions can elucidate the trajectory of social trait evolution in nature.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stalk size and altruism investment within and among populations of the social amoeba

Votaw

Ostrowski

2017

J of Evolutionary Biology

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“…Unfortunately, the explanations for the variation in these features are not known, although several studies provide information about some of the potential functions of the stalk. For example, spores that sat atop stalks were more likely to be picked up by an insect vector (smith, Queller, and Strassman 2014), and stalks emanating from the rear of the slug can help in traversing gaps in the soil (Gilbert et al 2012)-yet, whether and how these features are used in nature remains to be seen. In addition, while some stalk features may provide a fitness advantage, there may also be functional constraints imposed by development or physics.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…That the stalk might serve a different or additional purpose in different dictyostelids was proposed by Bonner (1982) and later tested by Gilbert et al (2012). They showed that the stalked migrator D. giganteum could use its stalk as a bridge to traverse small gaps in the substratum.…”

Section: Stalked Migrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Group Transformation: Fruiting Body and Stalk Formation

Broersma¹,

Ostrowski²

2021

Preprint

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Throughout the eukaryotic tree of life, amoeboid organisms have evolved that aggregate upon starvation and form multicellular fruiting bodies, consisting of a ball of spores atop a stalk. This chapter discusses the remarkable convergent evolution of a stalked fruiting body in these different taxa. It then discusses a well-studied group of aggregative fruiters, the cellular slime molds, in more detail. These organisms exhibit substantial variation in their stalk formation and composition, which allows a better understanding of the evolution, maintenance and possible functions of stalked fruiting bodies, but also points to potential costs and benefits of different types of stalks.

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“…; Gilbert et al. ). Most studies of kin discrimination have focused on this species, but understanding species level discrimination and discrimination in other species puts the work on D. discoideum in context.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Kin Discrimination in Dictyostelium Social Amoebae

Strassmann

2016

J Eukaryotic Microbiology

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Evolved cooperation is stable only when the benefactor is compensated, either directly or through its relatives. Social amoebae cooperate by forming a mobile multicellular body in which, about 20% of participants ultimately die to form a stalk. This benefits the remaining individuals that become hardy spores at the top of the stalk, together making up the fruiting body. In studied species with stalked migration, P. violaceum, D. purpureum, and D. giganteum, sorting based on clone identity occurs in laboratory mixes, maintaining high relatedness within the fruiting bodies. D. discoideum has unstalked migration, where cell fate is not fixed until the slug forms a fruiting body. Laboratory mixes show some degree of both spatial and genotype-based sorting, yet most laboratory fruiting bodies remain chimeric. However, wild fruiting bodies are made up mostly of clonemates. A genetic mechanism for sorting is likely to be cell adhesion genes tgrB1 and tgrC1, which bind to each other. They are highly variable, as expected for a kin discrimination gene. It is a puzzle that these genes do not cause stronger discrimination between mixed wild clones, but laboratory conditions or strong sorting early in the social stage diminished by later slug fusion could be explanations.

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

Cited by 5 publications

References 16 publications

Stalk size and altruism investment within and among populations of the social amoeba

Stalk size and altruism investment within and among populations of the social amoeba

Group Transformation: Fruiting Body and Stalk Formation

Kin Discrimination in Dictyostelium Social Amoebae

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