CbfA, the C-module DNA-binding factor, plays an essential role in the initiation of Dictyostelium discoideum development.

ABSTRACT: We recently isolated from Dictyostelium discoideum cells a DNA-binding protein, CbfA, that interacts in vitro with a regulatory element in retrotransposon TRE5-A. We have generated a mutant strain that expresses CbfA at <5% of the wild-type level to characterize the consequences for D. discoideum cell physiology. We found that the multicellular development program leading to fruiting body formation is highly compromised in the mutant. The cells cannot aggregate and stay as a monolayer almost indefinitely. The cells respond properly to prestarvation conditions by expressing discoidin in a cell density-dependent manner. A genomewide microarray-assisted expression analysis combined with Northern blot analyses revealed a failure of CbfA-depleted cells to induce the gene encoding aggregation-sp

SUBMITTER: Winckler T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC522599 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature