The genome of the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum.
The social amoebae are exceptional in their ability to alternate between unicellular and multicellular forms. Here we describe the genome of the best-studied member of this group, Dictyostelium discoideum. The gene-dense chromosomes of this organism encode approximately 12,500 predicted proteins, a high proportion of which have long, repetitive amino acid tracts. There are many genes for polyketide synthases and ABC transporters, suggesting an extensive secondary metabolism for producing and exporting small molecules. The genome is rich in complex repeats, one class of which is clustered and may serve as centromeres. Partial copies of the extrachromosomal ribosomal DNA (rDNA) element are found at the ends of each chromosome, suggesting a novel telomere structure and the use of a common mechanism to maintain both the rDNA and chromosomal termini. A proteome-based phylogeny shows that the amoebozoa diverged from the animal-fungal lineage after the plant-animal split, but Dictyostelium seems to have retained more of the diversity of the ancestral genome than have plants, animals or fungi.
Eichinger
L
L
Center for Biochemistry and Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, Joseph-Stelzmann-Str. 52, 50931 Cologne, Germany.
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Tunggal
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Kummerfeld
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Madera
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van Driessche
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Harper
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Lindsay
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Hauser
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James
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Madan Babu
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D018528:ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D001482:Base Composition; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000235:genetics; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000235:genetics; D002503:Centromere / Q000235:genetics; D017124:Conserved Sequence / Q000235:genetics; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D004023:Dictyostelium / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005057:Eukaryotic Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D020440:Gene Duplication; D022761:Gene Transfer, Horizontal / Q000235:genetics; D016678:Genome; D023281:Genomics; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D020543:Proteome; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D012343:RNA, Transfer / Q000235:genetics; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics; D012919:Social Behavior; D016615:Telomere / Q000235:genetics
D018528:ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D020543:Proteome; D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D012343:RNA, Transfer