Amacrocyst is an aggregate of cells ofDictyostelids formed duringsexual reproduction enclosed in acellulose wall.[1]: 468
If twoamoebae of differentmating types are present in a dark and wet environment, they can fuse during aggregation to form agiant cell. The giant cell will then engulf the other cells in the aggregate and encase the whole aggregate in a thick, cellulose wall to protect it. This is known as a macrocyst. Inside the macrocyst, the giant cell divides first throughmeiosis, then throughmitosis to produce manyhaploid amoebae that will be released to feed as normal amoebae would.
