Kuipers, Jasper (2023) Dictyostelium discoideum: Memory in chemotaxis. Master's Thesis / Essay, Biomolecular Sciences.
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Abstract
The slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum is a eukaryotic amoeboid that can live in solitary, but also as multicellular organisms. Through chemotaxis, the movement of an organism in response to a chemical stimulus, cells can seek food and find other cells to survive and reproduce. As a solitary amoeba, Dictyostelium feeds on bacteria in fertile soil and reproduces by binary fission. However, when food sources are depleted Dictyostelium cells aggregate and form a multicellular fruiting body which reproduces by releasing spores. To hunt down bacteria and find each other while aggregating, Dictiostelium cells need some sort of memory. Memory allows cells to have a sense of direction and determine efficient pathways to reach their destination. Since amoebas do not have brains like animals, memory is established in a vastly different way. Memory in amoebas like Dictyostelium is regulated on a molecular level by the use of specific signaling pathways. These signaling pathways are made up of proteins and molecules that form a cascade of chemical reactions and interactions, allowing cells to move persistently toward their destination, even if the direction of their destination is changed constantly. Research has shown that cells have distinguished short-term and long-term memory, similar to animals. This essay will discuss the details of short- and long-term memory in Dictyostelium cells and how these types of memory are established within the cell.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master's Thesis / Essay) |
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| Supervisor name: | Kortholt, A. |
| Degree programme: | Biomolecular Sciences |
| Thesis type: | Master's Thesis / Essay |
| Language: | English |
| Date Deposited: | 29 Jun 2023 09:09 |
| Last Modified: | 29 Jun 2023 09:09 |
| URI: | https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/30164 |
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