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Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Genetic Engineering of Dictyostelium discoideum Cells Based on Selection and Growth on Bacteria
Published on: January 25, 2019
Evolutionary crossroads in developmental biology: Dictyostelium discoideum
1College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK. p.schaap@dundee.ac.uk
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Dictyostelium discoideum belongs to a group of multicellular life forms that can also exist for long periods as single cells. This ability to shift between uni- and multicellularity makes the group ideal for studying the genetic changes that occurred at the crossroads between uni- and multicellular life. In this Primer, I discuss the mechanisms that control multicellular development in Dictyostelium discoideum and reconstruct how some of these mechanisms evolved from a stress response in the unicellular ancestor.
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