Retrotransposon Domestication and Control in Dictyostelium discoideum

Retrotransposon Domestication and Control in Dictyostelium discoideum

Transposable elements, identified in all eukaryotes, are mobile genetic units that can change their genomic position. Transposons usually employ an excision and reintegration mechanism, by which they change position, but not copy number. In contrast, retrotransposons amplify via RNA intermediates, increasing their genomic copy number. Hence, they represent a particular threat to the structural ...

Control of SCAR activity in Dictyostelium discoideum.

The WASP (Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein)/SCAR (suppressor of cAMP receptor) family of adaptor proteins regulate actin polymerization by coupling Rho-family GTPases to the activation of the Arp2/3 complex. SCAR exists within a complex of proteins, including Nap1 (Nck-associated protein 1), PIR121 (p53-inducible mRNA 121), Abi2 (Abl-interactor 2) and HSPC300. This complex was first reported to...

Dictyostelium discoideum

Dictyostelium discoideum is a cellular slime mold [4] that serves as an important model organism [5] in a variety of fields. Cellular slime molds have an unusual life cycle. They exist as separate amoebae, but after consuming all the bacteria in their area they proceed to stream together to form a multicellular organism. These features make them a valuable tool for studying developmental proces...

influx in Dictyostelium discoideum

Translocations in Dictyostelium discoideum.

Fourteen translocations of independent origin were identified in Dictyostelium discoideum on the basis of segregation anomalies of diploids heterozygous for these chromosome rearrangements, all of which led to the cosegregation of unlinked markers. Many of these translocations were discovered in strains mutagenized with MNNG or in strains carrying mutations affecting DNA repair; however, sponta...