Antigenic differences detected between prespore cells of Dictyostelium discoideum and Dictyostelium mucoroides using monoclonal antibodies.

A method was developed to obtain frozen sections of paraformaldehyde-fixed Dictyostelium slugs. These sections were ideal for studies using monoclonal antibodies. Two different monoclonal antibodies were used to recognize specific antigens on the surface of D. discoideum prespore cells by fluorescence microscopy. Neither of the two monoclonal antibodies bound to D. discoideum prestalk cells. D. mucoroides, a closely related species to D. discoideum, failed to bind either monoclonal antibody to its prespore cells. These results contrast with those obtained with either D. mucoroides [1] or D. discoideum [2] polyspecific antisera.