The effects of presumptive morphogens on prestalk and prespore gene expression in monolayers of Dictyostelium discoideum

Temporal and spatial expression of ammonium transporter genes during growth and development of Dictyostelium discoideum

Ammonia is an important signaling molecule involved in the regulation of development in Dictyostelium. During aggregation, ammonia gradients are established, and the ammonia concentration in the immediate environment or within a particular cell throughout development may vary. This is due to the rate of cellular ammonia production, its rate of loss by evaporation to the atmosphere or by diffusion into the substratum, and perhaps to cellular transport by ammonium transporters (AMTs). Recent efforts in genome and cDNA sequencing have identified three ammonium transporters in Dictyostelium. In addition to physically altering the levels of ammonia within cells, AMTs also may play a role in ammonia signaling. As an initial step in identifying such a function, the temporal and spatial expression of the three amt genes is examined. RT-PCR demonstrates that each of the three amt mRNAs is present and relatively constant throughout growth and development. The spatial expression of these three amt genes is examined during multiple stages of Dictyostelium development using in situ hybridization. A distinct and dynamic pattern of expression is seen for the three genes. In general, amtA is expressed heavily in pre-stalk cells in a dynamic way, while amtB and amtC are expressed in pre-spore regions consistently throughout development. AmtC also is expressed in the most anterior tip of fingers and slugs, corresponding to cells that mediate ammonia's effect on the choice between slug migration and culmination. Indeed, amtC null cells have a slugger phenotype, suggesting AmtC functions in the signaling pathway underlying the mechanics of this choice.

Factors controlling prespore cell differentiation in Dictyostelium discoideum: minute amounts of differentiation-inducing factor promote prespore cell differentiation

Amoebae of strain V12M2 differentiate efficiently into prespore cells without cell contact in a salt solution containing cAMP, if the pH of the medium is maintained suitably acidic using a restricted buffer [31]. Under such conditions, most cells differentiate into prespore cells at pH 5.2. Using this developmental system, the elements controlling prespore-cell differentiation were analyzed. First, the dependence on cell density was examined. At a very low density (10(2) cells/cm2), most cells did not differentiate. As the density was increased the proportion of prespore cells differentiating increased, reaching a maximum at 5 x 10(3) cells/cm2. Conditioned medium could mimic the effects of cell density on cell differentiation. These findings suggest the presence of factor(s) released into the medium which are involved in inducing prespore-cell differentiation. The conditioned medium was found to contain at least two prespore-inducing components; one is a novel factor(s) and the other is DIF, which has previous only been considered to repress prespore-cell differentiation. These findings were supported by experiments using a DIF-deficient mutant, HM44.

The effect of extracellular cyclic AMP on differentiation inducing factor (DIF)-dependent prestalk cell gene expression in monolayers of Dictyostelium is complex

An earlier finding that the ecmA and ecmB prestalk cell specific genes exhibited very different responses to cyclic AMP prompted the suggestion that cyclic AMP might act as the major spatial regulator of the prestalk cell developmental pattern in Dictyostelium. A more detailed kinetic analysis in monolayers of Dictyostelium has revealed that cyclic AMP inhibits the rate of expression of all three differentiation inducing factor (DIF) inducible genes, ecmA, ecmB and pDd26. After prolonged incubation, however, cyclic AMP enhances the levels of both ecmA and ecmB mRNAs, and nuclear run-on experiments suggest that cyclic AMP inhibits the degradation of both mRNA species. This complex response to cyclic AMP can explain the differential effects reported previously. Thus depending upon the experimental conditions, cyclic AMP can either enhance or reduce the apparent steady state level of a specific mRNA species. These results are not compatible with the earlier proposal that cyclic AMP is a spatial regulator of the prestalk developmental pattern. Although ecmA and ecmB accumulate rapidly in response to DIF, there is a lag in the accumulation of pD26 mRNA and the induction requires protein synthesis. These results suggest that pDd26 transcription requires the accumulation of an additional factor(s). Inhibition of pDd26 mRNA accumulation by cyclic AMP also occurs during the lag period, suggesting the possibility that cyclic AMP inhibits the accumulation of the, as yet, unknown factor. The inhibitory effect of cyclic AMP on pDd26 gene expression is unaffected by caffeine, suggesting that inhibition does not involve adenylate cyclase activation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)