The amoebaDictyostelium discoideum(aka Dicty ) feeds on a miscellanea of bacteria . But a curious matter happens when Dicty become infect by inedible bacterium : The amoebas turn into tiny farmers . They get together up their edible bacterium , carry them to a Modern place , and then sow the dirt with them . The findings were issue inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciencesthis week .
About a third of uncivilised Dicty strains farm bacteria when their food for thought provision becomes limited . This relationship was discover in 2011 and , at the time , research worker call back that the ameba farmers were in charge and the bacterium were their crops . But as it turns out , there ’s a third player : bacteria from the genusBurkholderia . Dicty do n’t corrode these bacteria . In fact , when the amoebas are raised on a lawn ofBurkholderia , they die .
To investigate the theatrical role of the inedible bacteria in this system , a squad of researchers from Washington University in St. Louis allowedBurkholderiabacteria to colonize non - farming Dicty . Once infected , the amoebas began picking up and carrying around the bacteria they utilize for food , such asKlebsiella pneumoniae . When land amoeba were treat with antibiotic drug that wiped outBurkholderia , the Dicty reverted back to a non - farming lifestyle .
All three players seem to benefit from this “ farming symbiosis ” relationship . Dicty that farm eatable bacterium are able to survive well when food is scarce , while all the bacterium carried by Dicty ( edible or not ) get circulate more widely . Burkholderiagets the added benefit of infect and colonizing Dicty . " Now we know thatBurkholderiaare the drivers , " Washington University’sSusanne DiSalvosaid in astatement . By make an amoeba to move , theBurkholderiaare able-bodied exploit raw terrain , although sometimes they end up harming their vehicle in the process .
It ’s not entirely clean howBurkholderiatransform their amoeba hosts . “ I cerebrate theBurkholderiaare infecting Dicty and disrupt some process whereby it digests its bacterial food , ” DiSalvo toldNational Geographic . Dicty end up have to stock around bacteria that it would commonly digest . By protecting itself from being digested , Burkholderiamake it possible for the amoebas to rear their own nutrient bacteria , rather than just fertilise on them immediately . Since they ’ve endow Dicty with farmer - corresponding characteristic , Burkholderiacan be either beneficial or infective , count on how you look at it .
