title: Studying epithelial morphogenesis in Dictyostelium.
abstract: The discovery of polarized epithelial tissue in the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum establishes this classical model organism as a novel system for the study of epithelial polarity and morphogenesis. D. discoideum grows as single cells and is easily maintained in cell culture. Starvation of the cells triggers a multicellular developmental process that culminates with the formation of a fruiting body, whose normal morphogenesis is dependent on a polarized epithelium located at the apex of the developing structure. Here, we discuss techniques for genetic manipulation and imaging of multicellular D. discoideum, with a focus on methods that have facilitated the study of the epithelial tissue in this organism.
authors.affiliation: Program in Cancer Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA, ddickins@live.unc.edu.
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Dickinson
authors.forename: W James
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: William I
authors.initials: WI
authors.lastname: Weis
mesh_terms: D004023:Dictyostelium / Q000254:growth & development*; D004848:Epithelium / Q000254:growth & development*; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009024:Morphogenesis; D034622:RNA Interference; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D046509:Tissue Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins