On the Swimming of \textit{Dictyostelium} amoebae

TL;DR

This paper investigates the swimming capabilities of extit{Dictyostelium} amoebae, demonstrating that their shape changes during crawling are consistent with their ability to swim, challenging traditional views on amoeboid locomotion.

Contribution

The study provides evidence that extit{Dictyostelium} amoebae can swim using shape changes similar to crawling, offering new insights into amoeboid motility mechanisms.

Findings

Shape changes during crawling are consistent with swimming behavior.

extit{Dictyostelium} amoebae can swim in a directed fashion.

Crawling and swimming mechanisms may be more similar than previously thought.

Abstract

Traditionally, the primary mode for locomotion of amoeboid cells was thought to be crawling on a substrate. Recently, it has been experimentally shown that \textit{Dictostelium} amoeba and neutrophils can also swim in a directed fashion. The mechanisms for amoeboid crawling and swimming were hypothesized to be similar. In this letter, we show that the shape changes generated by a crawling \textit{D. discoideum} cell are consistent with swimming.