"DMS," a computer-assisted system for quantitating motility, the dynamics of cytoplasmic flow, and pseudopod formation: its application to Dictyostelium chemotaxis.

A computer-assisted Dynamic Morphology System (DMS) is described that allows the rapid quantitation of more than 30 parameters of motility and dynamic morphology for up to 40 amebae in parallel. This system also generates "difference pictures" for characterizing the dynamics of pseudopod formation. A 3-D DMS is described, and application of DMS to problems of motility and chemotaxis in normal and mutant cells of Dictyostelium discoideum is reviewed.