In this video you can observe Dictyostelium discoideum amoeba cells hunting for Escherichia coli bacteria. Cells are imaged in 3D with the 3D Cell Explorer microscope. In detail you can observe the exact process through which an amoeba cell „eats“ a bacterium. Amoeba cells, as many other different cells eat through phagocytosis. Phagocytosis takes place by surrounding the target object with membrane extensions, the resulting phagosome (the vesicle containing the bacteria), following merges with lysosomes containing digestive enzymes, forming a phagolysosome. The food particles will then be digested, and the released nutrients are diffused or transported into the cytosol for use in other metabolic processes.
