The effect of epsilon-aminocaproic acid on biochemical changes in the development of the cellular slime mould Dictyostelium discoideum.

epsilon-Aminocaproic acid (EACA) inhibited the development of Dictyostelium discoideum strain AX2 after the aggregation stage. Biochemical changes that occurred early in development (loss of cellular protein, RNA and carbohydrate; increase in the specific activity of N-acetylglucosaminidase, alpha-mannosidase, threonine deaminase and leucine aminopeptidase) were not affected by concentrations of EACA which blocked development; but biochemical changes that occurred later (synthesis of carbohydrate, increase in the specific activity of UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase) were inhibited. Spores from fruiting bodies formed in the presence of low concentrations of EACA were larger, more spherical and less able to survive heat treatment than spores from fruiting bodies of control (no EACA) cells.