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Filopodia numbers impact chemotactic migration speed.
Annika L Schroder1,2, Livia D Songster1,3, Yahor Savich4,5
1Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455.
Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology
|July 15, 2025
Summary
Filopodia, cell protrusions, are not essential for amoebas to detect chemical signals but influence migration speed. Changes in filopodia number affect how fast amoeboid cells move.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Biophysics
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Migrating cells navigate using external cues.
- Filopodia are cell protrusions involved in environmental interaction.
- The function of filopodia in chemotaxis of fast-moving amoeboid cells is understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the role of filopodia in chemotactic guidance in the social amoeba Dictyostelium.
- Determine how filopodia formation is regulated by chemoattractants.
- Assess the impact of filopodia on amoeboid cell migration speed and directionality.
Main Methods:
- Stimulation of Dictyostelium amoebae with chemoattractant cAMP.
- Observation of filopodia formation and dynamics.
- Analysis of cell migration in wildtype and mutant Dictyostelium lacking the filopodial myosin DdMyo7.
- Quantification of filopodia number and cell migration speed.
Main Results:
- Chemoattractant stimulation transiently increases filopodia formation, involving DdMyo7.
- Filopodia formation is biased towards the chemoattractant source.
- Cells lacking filopodia (myo7 null) show normal directional migration.
- Altered filopodia numbers (lacking or increased) lead to slower migration speeds.
Conclusions:
- Filopodia are dispensable for detecting chemical gradients in Dictyostelium chemotaxis.
- Filopodia number, rather than their presence, influences amoeboid cell migration speed.
- Changes in filopodia number may affect migration speed by altering cell-substrate adhesion.
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