Genetic Heterogeneity in Wild Isolates of Cellular Slime Mold Social Groups

Sathe, Santosh and Kaushik, Sonia and Lalremruata, Albert and Aggarwal, Ramesh K and Cavender, James C and Nanjundiah, Vidyanand (2010) Genetic Heterogeneity in Wild Isolates of Cellular Slime Mold Social Groups. In: Microbial Ecology, 60 (1). pp. 137-148.

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Abstract

This study addresses the issues of spatial distribution, dispersal, and genetic heterogeneity in social groups of the cellular slime molds (CSMs). The CSMs are soil amoebae with an unusual life cycle that consists of alternating solitary and social phases. Because the social phase involves division of labor with what appears to be an extreme form of "altruism", the CSMs raise interesting evolutionary questions regarding the origin and maintenance of sociality. Knowledge of the genetic structure of social groups in the wild is necessary for answering these questions. We confirm that CSMs are widespread in undisturbed forest soil from South India. They are dispersed over long distances via the dung of a variety of large mammals. Consistent with this mode of dispersal, most social groups in the two species examined for detailed study, Dictyostelium giganteum and Dictyostelium purpureum, are multi-clonal.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Microbial Ecology
Publisher:	Springer
Additional Information:	Copyright of this article belongs to Springer.
Department/Centre:	Division of Biological Sciences > Centre for Ecological Sciences
Date Deposited:	02 Sep 2010 07:16
Last Modified:	19 Sep 2010 06:15
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/31959

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