Rafiq, Mehak, Traynor, David and Thompson, Elinor ORCID: 0000-0002-6434-9290 (2014) Investigating the role of rhomboid proteases in Dictyostelium discoideum. In: Society for General Microbiology Annual Meeting 2014, 14-17 Apr 2014, Liverpool, UK.

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Abstract

Rhomboid intramembrane proteases are conserved across evolution. Although they cleave disparate substrates, their location does mean that their proteolysis of membrane-tethered preproteins produces a common role in signalling or activation by cleavage. In the apicomplexa, rhomboid proteases facilitate infection: the bacterium Providencia's rhomboid activates a transport channel protein, facilitating quorum sensing. The rhomboids of the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum have not been explored. This biomedical model organism is useful in the study of eukaryotic regulatory pathways, having many common genetic networks with higher eukaryote cells, uni- and multicellular growth phases, phagocytosing bacterial prey, and being motile and chemotactic. A small group including four apparently enzymatically-active rhomboids was identified in Dictyostelium. We found that development was unaltered following deletion of rhmC whereas attempts to knockout the putative mitochondrial rhmD proved lethal. rhmA- and rhmB-null mutants give rise to changes in development, rhmA- having an altered response to chemoattractants and demonstrating decreased motility. rhmB-null cells have lower viability, smaller spore size and a decreased response to cAMP. These results correspond with RTPCR analysis, in which rhmA and B transcript levels are highest during chemotaxis-led aggregation of cells to the multicellular growth phase. Preliminary TEM intriguingly suggests a possible mitochondrial role for RhmA.

Item Type:	Conference or Conference Paper (Poster)
Additional Information:	[1] This poster was presented at the Society for General Microbiology Annual Meeting 2014 held from 14-17 April 2014 in Liverpool, UK. The poster (GM09) was given within the General Microbiology (GM) session.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	rhomboid protease, Dictyostelium, development, signalling
Subjects:	Q Science > QH Natural history > QH301 Biology
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > School of Human Sciences (HUM)
Related URLs:	Organisation Organisation Organisation
Last Modified:	09 Oct 2021 04:46
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/12260

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