scholarly journals Non-chemotactic Dictyostelium discoideum mutants with altered cGMP signal transduction.

1993 ◽  
Vol 123 (6) ◽  
pp. 1453-1462 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Kuwayama ◽  
S Ishida ◽  
P J Van Haastert
Keyword(s):  
Folic Acid ◽  
Dictyostelium Discoideum ◽  
Guanylyl Cyclase ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Dose Dependency ◽  
Common Pathway ◽  
Surface Receptors ◽  
Complementation Groups ◽  
Mutant Cells ◽  
Guanylyl Cyclase Activity

Folic acid and cAMP are chemoattractants in Dictyostelium discoideum, which bind to different surface receptors. The signal is transduced from the receptors via different G proteins into a common pathway which includes guanylyl cyclase and acto-myosin. To investigate this common pathway, ten mutants which do not react chemotactically to both cAMP and folic acid were isolated with a simple new chemotactic assay. Genetic analysis shows that one of these mutants (KI-10) was dominant; the other nine mutants were recessive, and comprise nine complementation groups. In wild-type cells, the chemoattractants activate adenylyl cyclase, phospholipase C, and guanylyl cyclase in a transient manner. In mutant cells the formation of cAMP and IP3 were generally normal, whereas the cGMP response was altered in most of the ten mutants. Particularly, mutant KI-8 has strongly reduced basal guanylyl cyclase activity; the enzyme is present in mutant KI-10, but can not be activated by cAMP or folic acid. The cGMP response of five other mutants is altered in either magnitude, dose dependency, or kinetics. These observations suggest that the second messenger cGMP plays a key role in chemotaxis in Dictyostelium.

NEW LOCI IN DICTYOSTELIUM DISCOIDEUM DETERMINING PIGMENT FORMATION AND GROWTH ON BACILLUS SUBTILIS

Genetics ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 96 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-123
Author(s):  
James H Morrissey ◽  
Steven Wheeler ◽  
William F Loomis
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Dictyostelium Discoideum ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Linkage Groups ◽  
New Mutation ◽  
Pigment Formation ◽  
Complementation Groups ◽  
First Time

ABSTRACT Seventeen independently isolated pigmentless (white) mutations in Dictyostelium discoideum are all recessive and fall into three complementation groups identifying two new whi loci in addition to the previously characterized whiA locus. whiB and whiC map to linkage groups III and IV, respectively. In addition, it was discovered that our laboratory stock of NC4, the wild-type strain from which these mutants were derived, has spontaneously lost the ability to grow on Bacillus subtilis. This new mutation, bsgB500, maps to linkage group VII and is not allelic to bsgA. bsgB500 is the first spontaneously derived mutation in D. discoideum that can be used to select heterozygous diploids, and for the first time allows genetic analysis to be routinely performed on strains derived from an unmutagenized background.

scholarly journals Isoprenylcysteine Carboxy Methylation Is Essential for Development in Dictyostelium discoideum

2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 4106-4118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Chen ◽  
Kyle J. McQuade ◽  
Xiao-Juan Guan ◽  
Peter A. Thomason ◽  
Michael S. Wert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dictyostelium Discoideum ◽  
Small Gtpases ◽  
Small Gtpase ◽  
Intercellular Signaling ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Protein Subunit ◽  
Encoding Gene ◽  
Carboxy Terminal ◽  
Mutant Cells ◽  
Do So

Members of the Ras superfamily of small GTPases and the heterotrimeric G protein γ subunit are methylated on their carboxy-terminal cysteine residues by isoprenylcysteine methyltransferase. In Dictyostelium discoideum, small GTPase methylation occurs seconds after stimulation of starving cells by cAMP and returns quickly to basal levels, suggesting an important role in cAMP-dependent signaling. Deleting the isoprenylcysteine methyltransferase-encoding gene causes dramatic defects. Starving mutant cells do not propagate cAMP waves in a sustained manner, and they do not aggregate. Motility is rescued when cells are pulsed with exogenous cAMP, or coplated with wild-type cells, but the rescued cells exhibit altered polarity. cAMP-pulsed methyltransferase-deficient cells that have aggregated fail to differentiate, but mutant cells plated in a wild-type background are able to do so. Localization of and signaling by RasG is altered in the mutant. Localization of the heterotrimeric Gγ protein subunit was normal, but signaling was altered in mutant cells. These data indicate that isoprenylcysteine methylation is required for intercellular signaling and development in Dictyostelium.

scholarly journals Clathrin heavy chain functions in sorting and secretion of lysosomal enzymes in Dictyostelium discoideum.

1994 ◽  
Vol 126 (2) ◽  
pp. 343-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Ruscetti ◽  
J A Cardelli ◽  
M L Niswonger ◽  
T J O'Halloran
Keyword(s):  
Dictyostelium Discoideum ◽  
Heavy Chain ◽  
Lysosomal Enzyme ◽  
Lysosomal Enzymes ◽  
Secretory Pathway ◽  
Chain Gene ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Clathrin Heavy Chain ◽  
Mutant Cells

The clathrin heavy chain is a major component of clathrin-coated vesicles that function in selective membrane traffic in eukaryotic cells. We disrupted the clathrin heavy chain gene (chcA) in Dictyostelium discoideum to generate a stable clathrin heavy chain-deficient cell line. Measurement of pinocytosis in the clathrin-minus mutant revealed a four-to five-fold deficiency in the internalization of fluid-phase markers. Once internalized, these markers recycled to the cell surface of mutant cells at wild-type rates. We also explored the involvement of clathrin heavy chain in the trafficking of lysosomal enzymes. Pulse chase analysis revealed that clathrin-minus cells processed most alpha-mannosidase to mature forms, however, approximately 20-25% of the precursor molecules remained uncleaved, were missorted, and were rapidly secreted by the constitutive secretory pathway. The remaining intracellular alpha-mannosidase was successfully targeted to mature lysosomes. Standard secretion assays showed that the rate of secretion of alpha-mannosidase was significantly less in clathrin-minus cells compared to control cells in growth medium. Interestingly, the secretion rates of another lysosomal enzyme, acid phosphatase, were similar in clathrin-minus and wild-type cells. Like wild-type cells, clathrin-minus mutants responded to starvation conditions with increased lysosomal enzyme secretion. Our study of the mutant cells provide in vivo evidence for roles for the clathrin heavy chain in (a) the internalization of fluid from the plasma membrane; (b) sorting of hydrolase precursors from the constitutive secretory pathway to the lysosomal pathway; and (c) secretion of mature hydrolases from lysosomes to the extracellular space.

Ammonia hypersensitivity of slugger mutants of D. discoideum

1994 ◽  
Vol 107 (2) ◽  
pp. 701-708 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Gee ◽  
F. Russell ◽  
J.D. Gross
Keyword(s):  
Dictyostelium Discoideum ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Weak Base ◽  
Stages Of Development ◽  
Ammonia Inhibition ◽  
Complementation Groups ◽  
Tip Formation

The weak base ammonia inhibits aggregation and culmination of wild-type amoebae of Dictyostelium discoideum. Here we have examined its effect on a series of ‘slugger’ mutants previously assigned to 10 complementation groups, and so-called because they remain as slugs for extended periods. We show that the mutants accumulate normal levels of ammonia and hence may be abnormally susceptible to the ammonia they produce. In agreement with this we find that representatives of the slugger complementation groups are hypersensitive to ammonia inhibition at three clearly recognisable morphological stages of development: aggregation, tip formation and culmination. This finding suggests that a common ammonia-sensitive process underlies each of these developmental events.

scholarly journals Translational control of discoidin lectin expression in drsA suppressor mutants of Dictyostelium discoideum.

1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 3171-3179 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Alexander ◽  
S Leone ◽  
E Ostermeyer
Keyword(s):  
Dictyostelium Discoideum ◽  
Translational Control ◽  
Suppressive Effect ◽  
Developmental Expression ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Rna Analysis ◽  
Type Pattern ◽  
Bona Fide ◽  
Lectin Protein ◽  
Mutant Cells

Genetic analysis in Dictyostelium discoideum has identified regulatory genes which control the developmental expression of the discoidin lectin multigene family. Among these, the drsA mutation is a dominant second-site suppressor of another mutation, disB, which has the discoidinless phenotype. We now demonstrate a novel mechanism by which the drsA allele exerts its suppressive effect on the disB mutation. Interestingly, drsA does not merely bypass the disB mutation and restore the wild-type pattern of lectin expression. Rather, drsA mutant cells have high levels of discoidin lectin synthesis during growth but do not express lectins during aggregation. In contrast, wild-type cells only express lectin protein during the aggregation period of development. Phenocopies of the drsA mutation show a pattern of discoidin expression similar to that seen in the bona fide mutant. These data suggest that there may be a mechanism of negative feedback, resulting from the high levels of discoidin lectin made during growth, which inhibits further discoidin lectin expression during development. Northern (RNA) analysis of developing drsA mutant cells shows that these cells contain high levels of discoidin mRNA, although no discoidin lectin protein is being translated from these messages. Therefore, expression of the discoidin gene family can be controlled at the level of translation as well as transcription.

Translational control of discoidin lectin expression in drsA suppressor mutants of Dictyostelium discoideum

1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 3171-3179
Author(s):  
S Alexander ◽  
S Leone ◽  
E Ostermeyer
Keyword(s):  
Dictyostelium Discoideum ◽  
Translational Control ◽  
Suppressive Effect ◽  
Developmental Expression ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Rna Analysis ◽  
Type Pattern ◽  
Bona Fide ◽  
Lectin Protein ◽  
Mutant Cells

Genetic analysis in Dictyostelium discoideum has identified regulatory genes which control the developmental expression of the discoidin lectin multigene family. Among these, the drsA mutation is a dominant second-site suppressor of another mutation, disB, which has the discoidinless phenotype. We now demonstrate a novel mechanism by which the drsA allele exerts its suppressive effect on the disB mutation. Interestingly, drsA does not merely bypass the disB mutation and restore the wild-type pattern of lectin expression. Rather, drsA mutant cells have high levels of discoidin lectin synthesis during growth but do not express lectins during aggregation. In contrast, wild-type cells only express lectin protein during the aggregation period of development. Phenocopies of the drsA mutation show a pattern of discoidin expression similar to that seen in the bona fide mutant. These data suggest that there may be a mechanism of negative feedback, resulting from the high levels of discoidin lectin made during growth, which inhibits further discoidin lectin expression during development. Northern (RNA) analysis of developing drsA mutant cells shows that these cells contain high levels of discoidin mRNA, although no discoidin lectin protein is being translated from these messages. Therefore, expression of the discoidin gene family can be controlled at the level of translation as well as transcription.

scholarly journals Chemotaxis to cyclic AMP and folic acid is mediated by different G proteins in Dictyostelium discoideum

1990 ◽  
Vol 96 (4) ◽  
pp. 668-673
Author(s):  
FANJA KESBEKE ◽  
PETER J. M. HAASTERT ◽  
RENÉ J. W. DE WIT ◽  
B. EWA SNAAR-JAGALSKA
Keyword(s):  
Signal Transduction ◽  
Folic Acid ◽  
Cyclic Amp ◽  
G Proteins ◽  
Dictyostelium Discoideum ◽  
Guanylate Cyclase ◽  
Inhibitory Effect ◽  
Sensory Transduction ◽  
Surface Receptors ◽  
Gtpγs Binding

Mutant Frigid A (fgdA) of Dictyostelium discoideum is defective in a functional Ga2 subunit of a G protein and is characterized by a complete blockade of the cyclic AMP-mediated sensory transduction steps, including cyclic AMP relay, chemotaxis and the cyclic GMP response. Folic acid-mediated transmembrane signal transduction was investigated in this mutant; the results show that: (1) cell surface folic acid receptors are present in fgdA mutants. (2) Folic acid induces intracellular responses, including activation of guanylate cyclase and chemotaxis. (3) The inhibitory effect of GTP on folic acid binding to membranes is present. (4) GTPγS binding and highaffinity GTPase are stimulated by folic acid. These data strongly suggest that folic acid receptors are coupled to guanylate cyclase and chemotaxis via a Ga protein that is different from Ga2. The results imply that surface receptors for cyclic AMP and folic acid are coupled to different G proteins.

scholarly journals Constitutively Active Protein Kinase A Disrupts Motility and Chemotaxis in Dictyostelium discoideum

2003 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Zhang ◽  
Paul J. Heid ◽  
Deborah Wessels ◽  
Karla J. Daniels ◽  
Tien Pham ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protein Kinase ◽  
Protein Kinase A ◽  
Dictyostelium Discoideum ◽  
Regulatory Subunit ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Normal Velocity ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Mutant Cells ◽  
Kinase A ◽  
Constitutively Active

ABSTRACT The deletion of the gene for the regulatory subunit of protein kinase A (PKA) results in constitutively active PKA in the pkaR mutant. To investigate the role of PKA in the basic motile behavior and chemotaxis of Dictyostelium discoideum, pkaR mutant cells were subjected to computer-assisted two- and three-dimensional motion analysis. pkaR mutant cells crawled at only half the speed of wild-type cells in buffer, chemotaxed in spatial gradients of cyclic AMP (cAMP) but with reduced efficiency, were incapable of suppressing lateral pseudopods in the front of temporal waves of cAMP, a requirement for natural chemotaxis, did not exhibit the normal velocity surge in response to the front of a wave, and were incapable of chemotaxing toward an aggregation center in natural waves generated by wild-type cells that made up the majority of cells in mixed cultures. Many of the behavioral defects appeared to be the result of the constitutively ovoid shape of the pkaR mutant cells, which forced the dominant pseudopod off the substratum and to the top of the cell body. The behavioral abnormalities that pkaR mutant cells shared with regA mutant cells are discussed by considering the pathway ERK2 —| RegA —| [cAMP] → PKA, which emanates from the front of a wave. The results demonstrate that cells must suppress PKA activity in order to elongate along a substratum, suppress lateral-pseudopod formation, and crawl and chemotax efficiently. The results also implicate PKA activation in dismantling cell polarity at the peak and in the back of a natural cAMP wave.

scholarly journals Unconventional Secretion of AcbA in Dictyostelium discoideum through a Vesicular Intermediate

2010 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 1009-1017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Cabral ◽  
Christophe Anjard ◽  
Vivek Malhotra ◽  
William F. Loomis ◽  
Adam Kuspa
Keyword(s):  
Cell Surface ◽  
Dictyostelium Discoideum ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sensitive Factor ◽  
Late Step ◽  
Unconventional Secretion ◽  
Membrane Bound ◽  
Acyl Coenzyme A ◽  
Mutant Cells

ABSTRACT The acyl coenzyme A (CoA) binding protein AcbA is secreted unconventionally and processed into spore differentiation factor 2 (SDF-2), a peptide that coordinates sporulation in Dictyostelium discoideum. We report that AcbA is localized in vesicles that accumulate in the cortex of prespore cells just prior to sporulation. These vesicles are not observed after cells are stimulated to release AcbA but remain visible after stimulation in cells lacking the Golgi reassembly stacking protein (GRASP). Acyl-CoA binding is required for the inclusion of AcbA in these vesicles, and the secretion of AcbA requires N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor (NSF). About 1% of the total cellular AcbA can be purified within membrane-bound vesicles. The yield of vesicles decreases dramatically when purified from wild-type cells that were stimulated to release AcbA, whereas the yield from GRASP mutant cells was only modestly altered by stimulation. We suggest that these AcbA-containing vesicles are secretion intermediates and that GRASP functions at a late step leading to the docking/fusion of these vesicles at the cell surface.

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