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Intracellular ATP levels influence cell fates in Dictyostelium discoideum differentiation
Author(s) -
Hiraoka Haruka,
Nakano Tadashi,
Kuwana Satoshi,
Fukuzawa Masashi,
Hirano Yasuhiro,
Ueda Masahiro,
Haraguchi Tokuko,
Hiraoka Yasushi
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
genes to cells
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.912
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1365-2443
pISSN - 1356-9597
DOI - 10.1111/gtc.12763
Subject(s) - dictyostelium discoideum , multicellular organism , biology , slime mold , intracellular , stalk , microbiology and biotechnology , dictyostelium , cellular differentiation , cell fate determination , cell , spore , biochemistry , gene , botany , horticulture , transcription factor
Abstract Multicellular organisms contain various differentiated cells. Fate determination of these cells remains a fundamental issue. The cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum is a useful model organism for studying differentiation; it proliferates as single cells in nutrient‐rich conditions, which aggregate into a multicellular body upon starvation, subsequently differentiating into stalk cells or spores. The fates of these cells can be predicted in the vegetative phase: Cells expressing higher and lower levels of omt12 differentiate into stalk cells and spores, respectively. However, omt12 is merely a marker gene and changes in its expression do not influence the cell fate, and determinant factors remain unknown. In this study, we analyzed cell fate determinants in the stalk‐destined and spore‐destined cells that were sorted based on omt12 expression. Luciferase assay demonstrated higher levels of intracellular ATP in the stalk‐destined cells than in the spore‐destined cells. Live‐cell observation during development using ATP sensor probes revealed that cells with higher ATP levels differentiated into stalk cells. Furthermore, reducing the ATP level by treating with an inhibitor of ATP production changed the differentiation fates of the stalk‐destined cells to spores. These results suggest that intracellular ATP levels influence cell fates in D. discoideum differentiation.