Aberrant stalk development and breakdown of tip dominance in Dictyostelium cell lines with RNAi-silenced expression of calcineurin B

BMC Developmental Biology
Katrina BoeckelerBarbara Weissenmayer

Abstract

Calcineurin, the Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein phosphatase, plays important roles in various cellular processes in lower and higher eukaryotes. Here we analyze the role of calcineurin in the development of Dictyostelium discoideum by RNAi-mediated manipulation of its expression. The cnbA gene of Dictyostelium discoideum which encodes the regulatory B subunit (CNB) of calcineurin was silenced by RNAi. We found a variety of silencing levels of CNB in different recombinant cell lines. Reduction of CNB expression in a given cell line was correlated with developmental aberrations. Cell lines with strongly reduced protein levels developed slower than wild type cells and formed short stalks and spore heads with additional tips. Formation of short stalks results from incomplete vacuolization of prestalk cells during terminal differentiation. Expression of the stalk-specific gene ecmB was reduced in mutant cells. Aberrant stalk development is a cell autonomous defect, whereas the breakdown of tip dominance can be prevented by the presence of as low as 10% wild type cells in chimeras. Silencing of calcineurin B in Dictyostelium by expression of RNAi reveals an unexpected link between increased intracellular calcium levels, possibly t...Continue Reading

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Dec 16, 2006·Current Genetics·Andrea Hinas, Fredrik Söderbom
Dec 14, 2007·Molecular Biology of the Cell·David LamPierre Golstein
Jul 13, 2006·Eukaryotic Cell·William J SteinbachJohn R Perfect
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May 21, 2013·Journal of Basic Microbiology·Sascha ThewesRupert Mutzel
Sep 28, 2007·Cellular Signalling·Andrew Catalano, Danton H O'Day

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
myristoylation
transgenic
PCR
electron microscopy
electrophoresis
light microscopy

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