Amoebas turn to family during tough times

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	Amoebas turn to family during tough times

Silkweaver

11-27-2008 9:57 AM

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tags:

biology, survival, family, selfish gene

Silkweaver says:

It is absolutely fascinating how certain patterns which we tend to associate with very high levels of complexity and organization, are present in very simple organisms and serve in fact the primordial imperative of survival.

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<div style="margin: 12px 0px; font-family: arial; color: #333333; background: #ffffff; border: solid 4px #e5e5e5; width: 100%; clear: left;"><div class="CM_CTB_Content_Wrap" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;background-color: #ffffff;"><div style="border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;" ><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="see clips that are hot right now"><img src="http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_embed/11c0841a-e44c-49e2-8bc1-148ea5c20393/BBBAFE5C-08C4-4357-883D-0BD9350E34FD/" alt="" width="19" height="19" border="0" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27915075/" href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27915075/" style="font-size: 11px;">www.msnbc.msn.com</a></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27915075/"><div align="center"><img src="http://content7.clipmarks.com/blog_cache/www.msnbc.msn.com/img/C29A6471-AEFD-466A-8FD6-45FFC873788C" alt="Image: Amoeba" /></div></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27915075/"><P class="textBodyBlack"><SPAN id="byLine"></SPAN>When times are tough, many of us turn to family and develop closer ties. So, too, with amoebas. </P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27915075/"><P class="textBodyBlack"><SPAN id="byLine"></SPAN>Some of these single-celled organisms tighten family bonds and cooperate when food is in short supply, new research shows. </P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27915075/">The research, published this week in the journal <EM>PLoS Biology</EM>, shows how <A href="http://www.livescience.com/php/multimedia/imagedisplay/img_display.php?s=animals&c=news&l=on&pic=081124-amoeba-family-02.jpg&cap=This+image+shows+how+two+genetically+different+strains+of+an+amoeba+species+%28shown+in+red+and+green%29+begin+to+cluster+together+as+the+cells+clump+into+an+aggregate+or+multi-cellular+organism.+Credit:+Courtesy+of+PLoS+Biology.&title=" linkindex="86" set="yes">one amoeba species</A> can distinguish genetically similar individuals, and how an incredibly simple life-form can display some sophisticated, <A href="http://www.livescience.com/animals/081031-sabertooth-cat.html" linkindex="87" set="yes">social behaviors</A>. </blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27915075/">"These single cells aggregate based on genetic similarity, not true kinship,"</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27915075/">Shaulsky added that this demonstrates a discrimination between "self" and "non-self" that is similar to that seen in the immune systems of higher organisms. </blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27915075/">Called <EM>Dictyostelium discoideum</EM>, this amoeba species generally keeps to itself when living in a healthy environment with <A href="http://www.livescience.com/health/7-survival-foods.html" linkindex="90" set="yes">enough grub</A>. </blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27915075/">But when food supplies run low, the free-living organisms clump together into a community of individuals. The result is a multi-cellular organism.</blockquote></div><div style="margin: 0px 6px 6px 4px;"><table style="font-size: 11px;border-spacing: 0px;padding: 0px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</td><td align="right" style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;width:107px" width="107"><a href="http://clipmarks.com/share/BBBAFE5C-08C4-4357-883D-0BD9350E34FD/blog/" title="blog or email this clip"><img src="http://content8.clipmarks.com/images/c2b-foot.png" border="0" alt="blog it" width="107" height="17" style="border-width:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;" /></a></td></tr></table></div></div>

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