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Genetic Heterogeneity in Wild Isolates of Cellular Slime Mold Social Groups

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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.

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Acknowledgments

Suggestions made by the anonymous reviewers added significantly to the analysis; we wish to express our thanks to them. We are grateful to CM Bharanaiah for his help in sample collection; R Sukumar and N Mandal for information regarding animal home ranges and feeding habits; the CES field station in Masinagudi for practical assistance at the collection site; the Director, CCMB, for extending the facilities for molecular analysis; and C. Nizak, R. Sawarkar, and J. T. Bonner for comments on the manuscript. S.S. acknowledges the award of a Senior Research Fellowship from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India

    Santosh Sathe, Sonia Kaushik & Vidyanand Nanjundiah

  2. Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, 500007, India

    Albert Lalremruata & Ramesh K. Aggarwal

  3. Department of Environmental and Plant Biology, Ohio University, Athens, OH, 45701, USA

    James C. Cavender

  4. Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore, 560012, India

    Vidyanand Nanjundiah

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  1. Santosh Sathe
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  2. Sonia Kaushik
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  4. Ramesh K. Aggarwal
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  5. James C. Cavender
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  6. Vidyanand Nanjundiah
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Correspondence to Santosh Sathe or Vidyanand Nanjundiah.

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Sathe, S., Kaushik, S., Lalremruata, A. et al. Genetic Heterogeneity in Wild Isolates of Cellular Slime Mold Social Groups. Microb Ecol 60, 137–148 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-010-9635-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-010-9635-4

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