Under-agarose chemotaxis of Dictyostelium discoideum

Methods Mol Biol. 2006:346:311-25. doi: 10.1385/1-59745-144-4:311.

Abstract

In the vegetative state, Dictyostelium amoebae are chemotactic toward pterins released by bacteria, whereas during multicellular development, they become chemotactic to endogenously produced cAMP. A variety of assays have been used to visualize and quantify chemotactic movement. Under-agarose chemotaxis provides a simple and flexible assay that permits high-resolution imaging and quantification of the motility behavior of individual cells and populations by both transmitted light and fluorescence microscopy. The assay requires cells to deform a solid but flexible matrix; therefore, it also provides a way to measure defects in the ability of mutant cells to move in these restrictive conditions.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Movement / drug effects*
  • Chemotaxis*
  • Cyclic AMP / pharmacology
  • Dictyostelium / physiology*
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins / metabolism
  • Sepharose / pharmacology*
  • Signal Transduction

Substances

  • Green Fluorescent Proteins
  • Sepharose
  • Cyclic AMP