Learning in the Single-Cell Organism Physarum polycephalum: Effect of Propofol

Propofol belongs to a class of molecules that are known to block learning and memory in mammals, including rodents and humans. Interestingly, learning and memory are not tied to the presence of a nervous system. There are several lines of evidence indicating that single-celled organisms also have the capacity for learning and memory which may be considered as basal intelligence. Here, we introduce a new experimental model for testing the learning ability of Physarum polycephalum, a model organism frequently used to study single-celled “intelligence”. In this study, the impact of propofol on Physarum’s “intelligence” was tested. The model consists of a labyrinth of subsequent bifurcations in which food (oat flakes soaked with coconut oil-derived medium chain triglycerides [MCT] and soybean oil-derived long chain triglycerides [LCT]) or propofol in MCT/LCT) is placed in one of each Y-branch. In this setting, it was tested whether Physarum memorized the rewarding branch. We saw that Physarum was a quick learner when capturing the first bifurcations of the maze; thereafter, the effect decreased, perhaps due to reaching a state of satiety. In contrast, when oat flakes were soaked with propofol, Physarum’s preference for oat flakes declined significantly. Several possible actions, including the blocking of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor signaling, are suggested to account for this behavior, many of which can be tested in our new model.

Physarum polycephalum mutants in the photocontrol of sporulation display altered patterns in the correlated expression of developmentally regulated genes

Physarum polycephalum is a lower eukaryote belonging to the amoebozoa group of organisms that forms macroscopic, multinucleate plasmodial cells during its developmental cycle. Plasmodia can exit proliferative growth and differentiate by forming fruiting bodies containing mononucleate, haploid spores. This process, called sporulation, is controlled by starvation and visible light. To genetically dissect the regulatory control of the commitment to sporulation, we have isolated plasmodial mutants that are altered in the photocontrol of sporulation in a phenotypic screen of N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) mutagenized cells. Several non-sporulating mutants were analyzed by measuring the light-induced change in the expression pattern of a set of 35 genes using GeXP multiplex reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction with RNA isolated from individual plasmodial cells. Mutants showed altered patterns of differentially regulated genes in response to light stimulation. Some genes clearly displayed pairwise correlation in terms of their expression level as measured in individual plasmodial cells. The pattern of pairwise correlation differed in various mutants, suggesting that different upstream regulators were disabled in the different mutants. We propose that patterns of pairwise correlation in gene expression might be useful to infer the underlying gene regulatory network.

Stage specific expression of poly(malic acid)-affiliated genes in the life cycle of Physarum polycephalum. Spherulin 3b and polymalatase

Polymalic acid is receiving interest as a unique biopolymer of the plasmodia of mycetozoa and recently as a biogenic matrix for the synthesis of devices for drug delivery. The acellular slime mold Physarum polycephalum is characterized by two distinctive growth phases: uninucleated amoebae and multinucleated plasmodia. In adverse conditions, plasmodia reversibly transform into spherules. Only plasmodia synthesize poly(malic acid) (PMLA) and PMLA-hydrolase (polymalatase). We have performed suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) of cDNA from amoebae and plasmodia to identify plasmodium-specific genes involved in PMLA metabolism. We found cDNA encoding a plasmodium-specific, spherulin 3a-like polypeptide, NKA48 (spherulin 3b), but no evidence for a PMLA-synthetase encoding transcript. Inhibitory RNA (RNAi)-induced knockdown of NKA48-cDNA generated a severe reduction in the level of PMLA suggesting that spherulin 3b functioned in regulating the level of PMLA. Unexpectedly, cDNA of polymalatase was not SSH-selected, suggesting its presence also in amoebae. Quantitative PCR then revealed low levels of mRNA in amoebae, high levels in plasmodia, and also low levels in spherules, in agreement with the expression under transcriptional regulation in these cells.

Estimating the number of plasmids taken up by a eukaryotic cell during transfection and evidence that antisense RNA abolishes gene expression inPhysarum polycephalum

We have estimated the statistical distribution of the number of plasmids taken up by individual Jurkat lymphoma cells during electroporation in the presence of two plasmids, one encoding for yellow (EYFP) the other for cyan (ECFP) fluorescent protein. The plasmid concentration at which most of the cells take up only one plasmid or several molecules was determined by statistical analysis. We found that cells behaved slightly heterogeneous in plasmid uptake and describe how the homogeneity of a cell population can be quantified by Poisson statistics in order to identify experimental conditions that yield homogeneously transfection-competent cell populations. The experimental procedure worked out with Jurkat cells was applied to assay the effectiveness of antisense RNA in knocking down gene expression in Physarum polycephalum. Double transfection of flagellates with vectors encoding EYFP and antisense-EYFP revealed for the first time that gene expression can be suppressed by co-expression of antisense RNA in Physarum. Quantitative analysis revealed that one copy of antisense expressing gene per EYFP gene was sufficient to completely suppress formation of the EYFP protein in Physarum.

G1-phase arrest is not a prerequisite for encystment in Physarum

Amoebae of the Myxomycete Physarum polycephalum form resistant, walled cysts when the food bacteria in a culture have been consumed. No G1 phase has been detected in the vegetative amoebal cell cycle, most of which comprises the G2 phase. Mature cysts are also in G2, but it has been reported that a G1 phase of roughly 24 h, followed by an S phase, is obligatory prior to encystment. We used flow cytometry to determine the distribution of DNA contents in amoebal cultures at intervals during vegetative growth and encystment. In all cultures, the cells were predominantly in G2 phase, and the percentage of cells with G1 DNA content remained very low. We conclude that an extended G1 phase of 24 h did not occur in our cultures and cannot be a prerequisite for encystment.