Description
Genus and Species: Dictyostelium discoideum (Plate)
Optimal Medium: Dictyostelium Agar + E. coli (nonmucoid)
Optimal Temperature: 25° C
Motility: Plasmodium
Classification: Slime Mold (Myxomycetes)
Dictyostelium discoideum, commonly referred to as a cellular slime mold (social amoeba), spends most of its active life cycle as a free-living amoeba in the soil. Under certain conditions the individual cells aggregate to form a multicellular slug that may crawl about before forming a fruiting body. This unique life cycle has made Dictyostelium discoideum an important model organism in the study of cell signaling and the development of multicellularity in eukaryotes.
Optimal medium: Dictyostelium Agar + E. coli (nonmucoid). Optimal growth temperature: 25° C. Culture contains enough material for a class of 30 students.