title: Light affects cAMP signaling and cell movement activity in Dictyostelium discoideum.
abstract: The multicellular, slug stage of the slime mould Dictyostelium discoideum lacks specific sensory cells and organs but can nevertheless respond in a very sensitive manner to external stimuli such as temperature and light. Within the migrating slug, the behavior of up to 100,000 individual amoebae is coordinated by cAMP mediated cell-cell signaling and chemotaxis. We report here the striking result that light directly modulates the cAMP cell-cell signaling system. Light-induced secretion of cAMP from the slug tips decreased the period length of optical density waves and speeded up cell movement. A local effect of light on cAMP release within the slug tip could modulate cell movement within the slug and thus control its phototactic turning and orientation toward a light source.
authors.affiliation: Zoologisches Institut, Universität München, Luisenstrasse 14, 80333 München, Germany.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miura
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Siegert
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects*; D004023:Dictyostelium / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects*; D008027:Light; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000528:radiation effects*
chemical_list: D000242:Cyclic AMP