Dictyostelium discoideum is a model eukaryotic organism for basic biomedical research in cell and developmental biology and for the functional analysis of sequenced genes. The organism has unique advantages for studying fundamental cellular processes such as cytokinesis, motility, phagocytosis, chemotaxis, signal transduction, cell sorting, pattern formation, and cell-type determination.

This book, written to coincide with the publication of the genome sequence of Dictyostelium, introduces the post-genomic era and focuses on the important aspects of Dictyostelium genomics. Leading experts in the field have contributed chapters on genomic mapping and sequencing, databases, multigene families, regulation of gene expression, signal transduction, the microfilament system, the GTPase superfamily, the kinome, glycosyltransferase genomics, and whole-genome functional analysis.