Carapace and pseudopodial morphology influence the speed of testate amoebae

• Grant number: 18/25276-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2019
• End date: August 16, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Morphology of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Daniel José Galafasse Lahr
• Grantee: Luise Sanches Kulessa
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Cellular motility is present in several areas of biology, its study uses the amoebae as one of the main models. This project aims to analyze the movement of two species of testate amoebae of Arcellinida - Arcella intermedia, Cyclopyxis lobostoma. Factors such as shell morphology and its apertural, as well as the number and structure of the pseudopodia will be considered. These factors will be measured for the two species under study. The organisms will be submitted to two types of tests, so that it is possible to observe voluntary movement and locomotion motivated by the presence of food in the environment. Images of the movement of the different amoebae will allow the elaboration of videos and measurement of the speed of the organisms. The data will be compared in order to establish a relationship between the morphological characteristics of the shell and pseudopodia and the amoebae speed. Such information is of great relevance when we consider understanding the process of cellular movement, whether of human cells of the immune system, tumor cells or unicellular organisms.