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The Dictyostelia are soil amoebae capable of extraordinary feats of survival, motility, chemotaxis, and development. Known as the "social amoebae," these organisms have been the subjects of serious study since the 1930s. Research in this area has been instrumental in shaping general views of differentiation, morphogenesis, and communication. Beginning with the history of Dictyostelids, this book considers the problems of the evolution of this multicellular organism. Characterized by its ability to transform from a single-celled organism into an elaborate assemblage of thousands of synchronously-moving cells, each stage of its development is treated in a separate chapter. The special properties of the Dictyostelid genome are rigorously analyzed, and the methods available to manipulate genes are presented in detail. Research techniques that enable many cell biology problems to be approached in studying the organism are also presented. Throughout, the emphasis is on combining classical experiments with modern molecular findings.
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Dictyostelium The Dictyostelia are soil amoebae capable of extraordinary feats of survival, motility, chemotaxis, and development. Known as the ``social amoebae'' or ``cellular slime molds,'' these organisms have been the subjects of serious study since the 1930s. Research in this area has been instrumental in shaping general views of differentiation, morphogenesis, and communication. Beginning with the history of Dictyostelids, this book considers the problems of the evolution of this multicellular organism, which is characterized by its ability to transform from a single-celled organism into an elaborate assemblage of thousands of synchronously moving cells. Each stage of this development is treated in a separate chapter. The special properties of the Dictyostelid genome are rigorously analyzed, and the methods available to manipulate genes are presented in detail. Research techniques that enable many cell biology problems to be approached are also presented. Throughout, the emphasis is on combining classical experiments with modern molecular ®ndings, and this book represents the only modern synthesis of such material. Richard H. Kessin is Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology at Columbia University.
Developmental and Cell Biology Series SERIES EDITORS Jonathan B. L. Bard, Department of Anatomy, Edinburgh University Peter W. Barlow, Long Ashton Research Station, University of Bristol David L. Kirk, Department of Biology, Washington University The aim of the series is to present relatively short critical accounts of areas of developmental and cell biology where suf®cient information has accumulated to allow a considered distillation of the subject. The ®ne structure of cells, embryology, morphology, physiology, genetics, biochemistry and biophysics are subjects within the scope of the series. The books are intended to interest and instruct advanced undergraduates and graduate students and to make an important contribution to teaching cell and developmental biology. At the same time, they should be of value to biologists who, while not working directly in the area of a particular volume's subject matter, wish to keep abreast of developments relevant to their particular interests. RECENT BOOKS IN THE SERIES 18. C. J. Epstein The consequences of chromosome imbalance: principles, mechanisms and models 19. L. SaxeÂn Organogenesis of the kidney 20. V. Raghavan Developmental biology of the fern gametophytes 21. R. Maksymowych Analysis of growth and development in Xanthium 22. B. John Meiosis 23. J. Bard Morphogenesis: the cellular and molecular processes of developmental anatomy 24. R. Wall This side up: spatial determination in the early development of animals 25. T. Sachs Pattern formation in plant tissues 26. J. M. W. Slack From egg to embryo: regional speci®cation in early development 27