Amoeba Cells
Amoeba Cells - Related Videos
04:15
Detecting Bacterial Virulence Using Amoeba as a Host System
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2026
Source: Dubois, V., et al. Identification of Virulence Markers of Mycobacterium abscessus for Intracellular Replication in Phagocytes. J. Vis. Exp. (2018)This video demonstrates the procedure of co-culturing amoebae with mutant bacterial strains to evaluate their intracellular survival and identify virulence markers through differences in colony counts.
05:22
A Rapid Image-based Bacterial Virulence Assay Using Amoeba
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Cited by 4 •
2018
Here, we present a protocol to measure the virulence of planktonic or surface-attached bacteria using D. discoideum (amoeba) as a host. Virulence is measured over a period of 1 h and host killing is quantified using fluorescence microscopy and image analysis. We demonstrate this protocol using the bacterium P. aeruginosa.
03:25
Amoeba-Based Enrichment of Giant Viruses from an Environmental Water Sample
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2026
Source: Bou Khalil, J. Y.,et al. A Rapid Strategy for the Isolation of New Faustoviruses from Environmental Samples Using Vermamoeba vermiformis. J. Vis. Exp. (2016)This video demonstrates the enrichment of giant viruses from an environmental water sample using amoeba-based co-culture to enable downstream detection and analysis.
04:12
Isolation of a Single Giant Virus from a Mixed Viral Population Using Amoebae
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2026
Source: Sahmi-Bounsiar, D. et al. Single Cell Micro-aspiration as an Alternative Strategy to Fluorescence-activated Cell Sorting for Giant Virus Mixture Separation. J. Vis. Exp. (2019)This video demonstrates single-cell micro-aspiration to isolate and expand a single giant virus population from a mixed viral population using amoebae as host cells.
02:04
Transfection of Wild-Type Amoeba via Electroporation with Bacterial Feeding Support
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2025
Source: Paschke, P., et al. Genetic Engineering of Dictyostelium discoideum Cells Based on Selection and Growth on Bacteria. J. Vis. Exp. (2019).This video demonstrates the procedure for introducing a plasmid carrying a target gene into amoeba cells via electroporation, followed by recovery in a bacterial supplement to enable efficient gene delivery in wild-type amoeba.
FAQs
Movement begins when the cell extends a temporary pseudopodium, changing its outline in a particular direction. Cytoplasmic streaming redistributes material within the cell and supports this extension, allowing the rest of the cell to follow. Observing these coordinated changes helps explain how internal fluid movement can generate crawling without a fixed body shape.
Cytoplasmic streaming connects internal organization with several cell activities. In amoeba cells, it helps support pseudopod extension and therefore contributes to movement, while changing the distribution of cytoplasm also accompanies shape changes during feeding. This makes streaming useful for examining how physical rearrangements inside a single cell influence visible behavior.
During phagocytosis, the cell surrounds and engulfs food, enclosing it in a food vacuole. The vacuole provides a compartment where digestion can occur after the material enters the cell. This process illustrates how a cell without specialized digestive organs can isolate food internally and carry out the steps needed to process it.
The contractile vacuole helps regulate water balance in freshwater environments. Its role is especially important because water balance must be controlled while the cell performs other activities, including movement and feeding. Studying this structure shows how a single cell maintains internal conditions through a specialized compartment rather than relying on organs or tissues.
Useful observations include the direction and pattern of pseudopod extension, changes in overall cell shape, cytoplasmic streaming, and the capture of food by phagocytosis. Researchers can also examine food vacuoles and contractile vacuoles to connect visible structures with digestion and water regulation. Together, these observations link cell organization to essential biological functions.
Amoeba cells place several fundamental processes within one observable cell: locomotion, membrane dynamics, feeding, digestion, and osmoregulation. Because these activities can be related directly to changing cell shape and internal compartments, the cells provide a useful model for studying basic biology. Their processes also offer insight into functions shared by more complex cells.