ABSTRACT
Dictyostelium discoideum is a nonobligate metazoan that is found in moist, temperate environments where there is a supply of decaying matter. 1 D. discoideum amoebae phagocytize the bacteria associated with the decaying matter, digest them in food vacuoles, and utilize their cellular components as nutrients. In the laboratory, the amoebae are typically grown in association with Gram-negative bacteria or axenically in a broth composed of complex components. D. discoideum is a valuable model system for studying the role of cohesion in development because it is accessible to experimental manipulation, and during its life cycle it possesses many of the features associated with the development of more complex eucaryotes, i.e., cell-type-specific differentiation, morphogenesis, pattern formation, and selected cell death.
