Dictyostelids
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A study on the life cycle of soil borne Dictyostelids
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Lazarte JA1*, Lapira AJ2, Libunao MM1 and Marmar A3
Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, University of Santo Tomas, España Blvd., Manila, Philippines 1008- jeannelazarte@gmail.com
Lazarte JA, Lapira AJ, Libunao MM, Marmar A 2013 – A study on the life cycle of soil-borne Dictyostelids.
Dictyostelid cellular slime moulds (or Dictyostelids) are unicellular, bacterivores thriving abundantly in the soil surface that exhibits an alternating life cycle between growth and multicellular development in response to the environmental changes. This study was conducted to isolate and culture Dictyostelids from the soil to observe this unique life cycle. Soil sample was collected and diluted to volume. A measure of 0.6 mL of the soil suspension were put into a 1/3 stength of Hay Infusion Agar. Then, 0.4 mL of 24-hour old E. coli was added to serve as nutrient source of the Dictyostelids. The plates were incubated at 24°-25°C for 24 hours and were observed periodically the second day. Using a compound light microscope, the development of sorocarps were observed and noted. From the results collected, each stage on the life cycle of Dictyostelids was observed. When the nutrient source was abundant, generally, solitary amoebae were observed. However, at the onset of starvation, amoebae aggregated and formed sorocarps.
Key words - Dictyostelids – Life Cycle – Slime Mould
Introduction
Slime moulds are fungus-like organisms that are classified under Phylum Myxomycota of Kingdom Protozoa (Kirk, et. al, 2001). They are made up of individual cells that form an aggregate mass, which later form into sporangia (American Society of Microbiology, 2006). They are further divided into two kinds; Plasmodial Slime Moulds-which form a plasmodium,
A study on the life cycle of soil borne Dictyostelids
-------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------
Lazarte JA1*, Lapira AJ2, Libunao MM1 and Marmar A3
Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, University of Santo Tomas, España Blvd., Manila, Philippines 1008- jeannelazarte@gmail.com
Lazarte JA, Lapira AJ, Libunao MM, Marmar A 2013 – A study on the life cycle of soil-borne Dictyostelids.
Dictyostelid cellular slime moulds (or Dictyostelids) are unicellular, bacterivores thriving abundantly in the soil surface that exhibits an alternating life cycle between growth and multicellular development in response to the environmental changes. This study was conducted to isolate and culture Dictyostelids from the soil to observe this unique life cycle. Soil sample was collected and diluted to volume. A measure of 0.6 mL of the soil suspension were put into a 1/3 stength of Hay Infusion Agar. Then, 0.4 mL of 24-hour old E. coli was added to serve as nutrient source of the Dictyostelids. The plates were incubated at 24°-25°C for 24 hours and were observed periodically the second day. Using a compound light microscope, the development of sorocarps were observed and noted. From the results collected, each stage on the life cycle of Dictyostelids was observed. When the nutrient source was abundant, generally, solitary amoebae were observed. However, at the onset of starvation, amoebae aggregated and formed sorocarps.
Key words - Dictyostelids – Life Cycle – Slime Mould
Introduction
Slime moulds are fungus-like organisms that are classified under Phylum Myxomycota of Kingdom Protozoa (Kirk, et. al, 2001). They are made up of individual cells that form an aggregate mass, which later form into sporangia (American Society of Microbiology, 2006). They are further divided into two kinds; Plasmodial Slime Moulds-which form a plasmodium,
References: Bonner JT. 1967. The cellular slime molds 2nd edition. Princeton University Press. Cavender JC, Landolt JC, Ndiritu GG, Stephenson SL. 2010. Dictyostelid cellular slime moulds from Africa Kik, P., et. Al. 2001. Dictionary of Fungi 9th edition. CABI Publishing: Wallingford, U.K. Gams, W., Hoekstra, E., Aptroot, A. 1998. CBS Course of Mycology 4th edition. CBS: Netherlands. Raper KB. 1984. The Dictyostelids. Princeton University Press: Princeton, New Jersey. Sharma OP Stephenson SL, Rajguru SN. 2010. Dictyostelid cellular slime moulds in agricultural soils. Mycosphere 1(4), 333–336. William JG American Society of Microbiology. 2006. Slime Molds. Microbe World. Retrieved from http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_apa_format_examples.shtml