Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Richa Karmakar, Timothy Tyree, Richard H. Gomer, Wouter-Jan Rappel
Summary: Chemotaxis plays a crucial role in biological processes where cells are guided by chemical gradients. In Dictyostelium discoideum, cell aggregates are formed through periodic pulses of cAMP and secretion of PDE, allowing for cell motion and dispersion. The competition between cAMP and PDE results in the formation of a gradient directed away from the aggregate, leading to outward cell motion.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Biology
Tamao Saito, Tomoyuki Iijima, Kohei Koyama, Tomonori Shinagawa, Ayaka Yamanaka, Tsuyoshi Araki, Noriyuki Suzuki, Toyonobu Usuki, Robert R. Kay
Summary: The soil is a complex ecosystem where various ecological interactions occur. Dictyostelium discoideum, a social amoeba with a high genomic potential, produces polyketides to regulate these interactions. This study reveals that D. discoideum utilizes specific enzymes to produce chlorinated signal molecules and antibacterial polyketides. These compounds play a role in protecting mature spores from bacterial infection.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Romain Bodinier, Ayman Sabra, Jade Leiba, Anna Marchetti, Otmane Lamrabet, Imen Ayadi, Vedrana Filic, Takefumi Kawata, Igor Weber, Pierre Cosson
Summary: The genetic inactivation of lrrkA leads to enhanced phagocytosis and cell motility in D. discoideum cells, while also causing an abnormal response to folate. Folate increases motility in parental cells but not in lrrkA KO cells, indicating the pivotal role of LrrkA in cellular response to folate. The study identifies gene products involved in the control of intracellular killing, cell motility, and gene transcription, shedding light on how D. discoideum can efficiently migrate, engulf, and kill bacteria when encountering bacterially-secreted folate.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Beth Kelly, Gustavo E. Carrizo, Joy Edwards-Hicks, David E. Sanin, Michal A. Stanczak, Chantal Priesnitz, Lea J. Flachsmann, Jonathan D. Curtis, Gerhard Mittler, Yaarub Musa, Thomas Becker, Joerg M. Buescher, Erika L. Pearce
Summary: The behavior of Dictyostelium discoideum is dependent on nutrients, existing as unicellular organisms in the presence of sufficient food and aggregating into multicellular organisms upon starvation. The generation of reactive oxygen species due to nutrient limitation leads to the sequestration of cysteine in the antioxidant glutathione, limiting its sulfur atom usage and maintaining the organism in a nonproliferating state conducive to multicellular development. This mechanism of signaling through reactive oxygen species highlights the roles of oxygen and sulfur as simple signaling molecules in dictating cell fate in early eukaryotes, with implications for responses to nutrient fluctuations in multicellular eukaryotes.
Article
Biology
Ting Gong, Xuedi Zhang, Zhiyong Peng, Yinfeng Ye, Ruimeng Liu, Yinggui Yang, Zhugui Chen, Zhihao Zhang, Hongfei Hu, Shuang Yin, Yi Xu, Jing Tang, Youtan Liu
Summary: The levels of exosomal APN/CD13 in circulating plasma were found to be higher in patients and mice with sepsis-induced acute lung injury (ALI). Increased levels of exosomal APN/CD13 were associated with the severity of ALI and fatality in sepsis patients. Macrophage-secreted exosomal APN/CD13 regulated necroptosis of lung epithelial cells by binding to the cell surface receptor TLR4 to induce ROS generation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and NF-kappa B activation.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Biochemical Research Methods
Johann E. Kufs, Christin Reimer, Pierre Stallforth, Falk Hillmann, Lars Regestein
Summary: The identification of novel platform organisms for the production and discovery of small molecules is highly important in the pharmaceutical industry. The amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum serves as a promising platform for producing complex secondary metabolites and has the potential for developing new bioprocesses for pharmaceuticals.
CURRENT OPINION IN BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Shilu Zhang, Saptarshi Pyne, Stefan Pietrzak, Spencer Halberg, Sunnie Grace McCalla, Alireza Fotuhi Siahpirani, Rupa Sridharan, Sushmita Roy
Summary: The authors developed a method called single-cell Multi-Task Network Inference (scMTNI) to accurately infer the dynamics of cell type-specific Gene Regulatory Networks (GRNs) from scRNA-seq and scATAC-seq datasets. This method can identify key regulators and accurately model network dynamics for diverse processes such as cellular reprogramming and differentiation.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Chao Jin, Lingan Zhao, Weigao Zhao, Luting Wang, Shishu Zhu, Zihan Xiao, Yijun Mo, Miaoyue Zhang, Longfei Shu, Rongliang Qiu
Summary: This study investigates the transport and retention behavior of amoeba spores in porous media, revealing the key factors affecting spore deposition and providing important evidence for the presence of amoeba in tap water. Additionally, it is one of the first studies to examine the mechanisms affecting the fate of amoeba spores in porous media, offering a significant baseline for future research to minimize the safety risk posed by amoeba in drinking water systems.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Shyong Quan Yap, William D. Kim, Robert J. Huber
Summary: The transmembrane protein MFSD8 plays a crucial role in transporting chloride ions across the lysosomal membrane and is associated with CLN7 disease. The ortholog of human MFSD8 in D. discoideum, called mfsd8, is involved in endocytosis, protein secretion, and growth and early development processes. Loss of mfsd8 in D. discoideum leads to increased proliferation, pinocytosis, and cell size, as well as inhibition of cytokinesis and altered enzyme activity.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Robert J. Huber, William D. Kim, Sabateeshan Mathavarajah
Summary: Neddylation is a crucial post-translational modification that influences cell growth and development processes. In the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum, the impact of neddylation is demonstrated through the use of the inhibitor MLN4924.
Article
Microbiology
Akihiro Kishikawa, Satoshi Hamada, Ichiro Kamei, Yosuke Fujimoto, Kazuhiro Miyazaki, Motonobu Yoshida
Summary: In this study, a gene named Le-Dd10 was isolated from a cDNA library of Lentinula edodes primordia and found to be involved in the formation of fruiting bodies in the mushroom. Functional analysis and molecular characterization revealed that Le-Dd10 is located on the No. 4 linkage group of L. edodes.
ARCHIVES OF MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Meagan D. McLaren, Sabateeshan Mathavarajah, William D. Kim, Shyong Q. Yap, Robert J. Huber
Summary: The study reveals the important roles of CLN5 in growth and development processes, with CLN5 deficiency affecting cell proliferation, viability, and autophagic flux. Loss of CLN5 in the early stages of multicellular development impacts cell aggregation and autophagic levels. Post-mound formation, CLN5 deficiency results in developmental abnormalities affecting spore morphology, germination, and viability.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Yuming Yang, Li Wang, Dan Zhang, Zhijun Che, Qing Wang, Ruifan Cui, Wei Zhao, Fang Huang, Hengyou Zhang, Hao Cheng, Deyue Yu
Summary: This study provides insights into how soybean plants adjust root structure to enhance phosphorus uptake efficiency and yield in response to low phosphorus stress, through the regulation of a soybean type-B response regulator gene.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Chih-Yu Wu, Ting-Ying Wu, Zhen-Yu Guan, Peng-Yuan Wang, Yen-Ching Yang, Chao-Wei Huang, Tzu-Hung Lin, Hsien-Yeh Chen
Summary: Current methods for modular assembly of biomaterials have limitations, but the vapor-phase deposition technique presented in this study allows for the fabrication of 3D polymeric materials with biomolecule functionalization, tunable mass transport, and mechanical properties control. The modular scaffolds fabricated demonstrated high cell viability, enhanced cell proliferation, osteogenesis, and neurogenesis, as well as the potential for mass production. Additionally, the scaffolds enabled independent activities of osteogenesis and angiogenesis in separate compartments within the same construct.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Hayato Ide, Yukihisa Hayashida, Yusuke V. Morimoto
Summary: The bacterial signaling molecule c-di-GMP is only found in the cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum among eukaryotes. Dictyostelium cells use c-di-GMP to induce differentiation into stalk cells during their transition from a unicellular to a multicellular state. This study used a fluorescent probe to observe the localization of c-di-GMP within Dictyostelium multicellular bodies, and found that cytosolic c-di-GMP concentrations were significantly higher at the tip of the multicellular body during stalk formation.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Takefumi Kawata, Yuri Nakamura, Yukika Saga, Yumi Iwade, Megumi Ishikawa, Aya Sakurai, Nao Shimada
Article
Cell Biology
Yukika Saga, Tomoka Inamura, Nao Shimada, Takefumi Kawata
DEVELOPMENT GROWTH & DIFFERENTIATION
(2016)
Article
Developmental Biology
Yoko Yamada, Chris Sugden, Jeffrey G. Williams
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2017)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yoko Yamada, Andrew Cassidy, Pauline Schaap
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2018)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ryoya Sekine, Takefumi Kawata, Tetsuya Muramoto
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2018)
Article
Cell Biology
Mizuho Kunii, Mami Yasuno, Yuki Shindo, Takefumi Kawata
DEVELOPMENT GENES AND EVOLUTION
(2014)
Article
Cell Biology
Tsuyoshi Araki, Linh Hai Vu, Norimitsu Sasaki, Takefumi Kawata, Ludwig Eichinger, Jeffrey G. Williams
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF THE CELL
(2014)
Review
Cell Biology
Tetsuya Muramoto, Hoshie Iriki, Jun Watanabe, Takefumi Kawata
Article
Developmental Biology
Yoko Yamada, Pauline Schaap
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2019)
Article
Cell Biology
Yukika Saga, Yumi Iwade, Tsuyoshi Araki, Megumi Ishikawa, Takefumi Kawata
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Gillian Forbes, Zhi-hui Chen, Koryu Kin, Hajara M. Lawal, Christina Schilde, Yoko Yamada, Pauline Schaap
Article
Cell Biology
Romain Bodinier, Jade Leiba, Ayman Sabra, Tania N. Jauslin, Otmane Lamrabet, Cyril Guilhen, Anna Marchetti, Yumi Iwade, Takefumi Kawata, Wanessa C. Lima, Pierre Cosson
CELLULAR MICROBIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Cell Biology
Romain Bodinier, Ayman Sabra, Jade Leiba, Anna Marchetti, Otmane Lamrabet, Imen Ayadi, Vedrana Filic, Takefumi Kawata, Igor Weber, Pierre Cosson
Summary: The genetic inactivation of lrrkA leads to enhanced phagocytosis and cell motility in D. discoideum cells, while also causing an abnormal response to folate. Folate increases motility in parental cells but not in lrrkA KO cells, indicating the pivotal role of LrrkA in cellular response to folate. The study identifies gene products involved in the control of intracellular killing, cell motility, and gene transcription, shedding light on how D. discoideum can efficiently migrate, engulf, and kill bacteria when encountering bacterially-secreted folate.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Yoko Yamada, Gillian Forbes, Qingyou Du, Takefumi Kawata, Pauline Schaap
Summary: The study highlights the crucial role of PIKfyve in the fusion process of V-ATPase receptor vesicles within cells, and indicates its regulatory role in cell differentiation and gene expression.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Yukika Saga, Yudai Shimoyama, Yoko Yamada, Naoki Morikawa, Takefumi Kawata
Summary: This study demonstrates that dutA RNA molecules are distributed as spot-like structures in the cytoplasm, and its cell type-specific expression changes dramatically during development. Ectopic expression of dutA RNA in the organizer region of slugs caused a prolonged slug migration period and reduced STATa activation. Analysis of gene expression in various dutA mutants revealed changes in the levels of several STATa-regulated genes, which might affect the phenotype.