Visualization of c-di-GMP in multicellular Dictyostelium stages

Hayato Ide; Yukihisa Hayashida; Yusuke V Morimoto

doi:10.3389/fcell.2023.1237778

Visualization of c-di-GMP in multicellular Dictyostelium stages

Front Cell Dev Biol. 2023 Jul 20:11:1237778. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1237778. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Hayato Ide¹, Yukihisa Hayashida¹, Yusuke V Morimoto^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Graduate School of Computer Science and Systems Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Fukuoka, Japan.
² Department of Physics and Information Technology, Faculty of Computer Science and Systems Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Fukuoka, Japan.
³ Japan Science and Technology Agency, PRESTO, Kawaguchi, Japan.

Abstract

The bacterial signaling molecule cyclic diguanosine monophosphate (c-di-GMP) is only synthesized and utilized by the cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum among eukaryotes. Dictyostelium cells undergo a transition from a unicellular to a multicellular state, ultimately forming a stalk and spores. While Dictyostelium is known to employ c-di-GMP to induce differentiation into stalk cells, there have been no reports of direct observation of c-di-GMP using fluorescent probes. In this study, we used a fluorescent probe used in bacteria to visualize its localization within Dictyostelium multicellular bodies. Cytosolic c-di-GMP concentrations were significantly higher at the tip of the multicellular body during stalk formation.

Keywords: Dictyostelium; c-di-GMP; cell differentiation; fluorescence microscopy; signal transduction.

Grants and funding

This research has been supported in part by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers JP21K06099, JP21H05532 and JP23H04082 (to YM) and JST PRESTO Grant Number JPMJPR204B (to YM).