Behavioral responses of streamer F mutants of Dictyostelium discoideum: effects of cyclic GMP on cell motility

Abstract

Streamer F (stmF) mutants have a prolonged increase in intracellular cGMP in response to addition of the chemoattractant cAMP. The speed of movement and area of stmF cells were quantitated as the cells were stimulated with a rapid, uniform increase in extracellular cAMP. The speed of stmF cells rapidly drops as does that of the wild-type, but then requires about 300 seconds to recover. In contrast, the speed of the parental strain, XP55, recovers within 60–70 seconds. This prolonged drop in speed correlates with the time during which intracellular cGMP remains high, suggesting that intracellular cGMP induces this prolonged reduction in speed. Mutants from other streamer complementation groups do not show this altered response. Area measurements indicate that stmF cells do not cringe or round up as XP55 does, but spread with the same kinetics as XP55. Chemotactic orientation of the stmF cells in stable spatial gradients is similar to or slightly greater than that of the wild-type. Tracking of cells moving during aggregation indicates that the stmF cells show large drops in speed between pulses, resulting in the banding pattern seen in streams. The cells can still respond to new pulses, resulting in an aggregation time that is similar to that of XP55.