John Bonner | My prime interests are in evolution and development. I use the cellular slime molds as a tool to seek an understanding of those twin disciplines. These so called social amoebae are common soil organisms and have a peculiar life cycle in that the separate amoebae feed first and then come together to form small multicellular fruiting bodies in which the stalk cells are altruistic and die in the process of lifting the mass of encapsulated spores up into the air. This immediately raises some interesting sociobiological questions of why this system arose by natural selection and what are the mechanisms by which this development is achieved. Along the way important ecological questions are raised. Undoubtedly this social stage in their life cycle is a means of more effective dispersal of the spores in the soil. Presently I am involved in experiments designed to understand how this is achieved in a number of species that vary morphologically; what are the soil conditions that that correlate with a particular morphology?

Published in 2006. Why Size Matters: from bacteria to blue whales. Princeton University Press.
 
Tel 609.258.3841
Fax 609.258.1712
Email:
jtbonner 'at' princeton [dot] edu		 Curriculum Vitae (pdf)
Publication Abstracts (pdf) 

PU logo
 © 2007 The Trustees of Princeton University
   Web page feedback: amyb 'at' Princeton [dot] edu    |   Last update: October 30, 2007

Go home