Secreted Cyclic Di-GMP Induces Stalk Cell Differentiation in the Eukaryote Dictyostelium discoideum

• Published in: Journal of bacteriology Vol. 198; no. 1; pp. 27 - 31
• Main Authors: Chen, Zhi-hui, Schaap, Pauline
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Society for Microbiology 01.01.2016
• Subjects: Amoeba; Apoptosis; Bacteriology; Cell differentiation; Cells; Cyclic GMP - analogs & derivatives; Cyclic GMP - genetics; Cyclic GMP - metabolism; Dictyostelium - cytology; Dictyostelium - metabolism; Dictyostelium discoideum; Eukaryotes; Life cycles; Meeting Reviews; Prokaryotes; Signal Transduction - physiology; Spores, Protozoan - physiology
• ISSN: 0021-9193; 1098-5530
• DOI: 10.1128/JB.00321-15

Cyclic di-GMP (c-di-GMP) is currently recognized as the most widely used intracellular signal molecule in prokaryotes, but roles in eukaryotes were only recently discovered. In the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum , c-di-GMP, produced by a prokaryote-type diguanylate cyclase, induces the differentiation of stalk cells, thereby enabling the formation of spore-bearing fruiting bodies. In this review, we summarize the currently known mechanisms that control the major life cycle transitions of Dictyostelium and focus particularly on the role of c-di-GMP in stalk formation. Stalk cell differentiation has characteristics of autophagic cell death, a process that also occurs in higher eukaryotes. We discuss the respective roles of c-di-GMP and of another signal molecule, differentiation-inducing factor 1, in autophagic cell death in vitro and in stalk formation in vivo .