title: Highlighting the role of Ras and Rap during Dictyostelium chemotaxis.
abstract: Chemotaxis, the directional movement towards a chemical compound, is an essential property of many cells and has been linked to the development and progression of many diseases. Eukaryotic chemotaxis is a complex process involving gradient sensing, cell polarity, remodelling of the cytoskeleton and signal relay. Recent studies in the model organism Dictyostelium discoideum have shown that chemotaxis does not depend on a single molecular mechanism, but rather depends on several interconnecting pathways. Surprisingly, small G-proteins appear to play essential roles in all these pathways. This review will summarize the role of small G-proteins in Dictyostelium, particularly highlighting the function of the Ras subfamily in chemotaxis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Cell Biology, University of Groningen, Kerklaan 30, 9751NN Haren, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Arjan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kortholt
authors.forename: Peter J M
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: van Haastert
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002633:Chemotaxis; D004023:Dictyostelium / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D020668:rap GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D018631:ras Proteins / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: C489016:ras protein, Dictyostelium; D020668:rap GTP-Binding Proteins; D018631:ras Proteins