Analysis of the multiple transcripts of the Dd ras gene during Dictyostelium discoideum development.

Transcripts from the Dd ras gene can only be detected once starved cells have begun to aggregate (Reymond et al., Cell 39: 141-148, 1984). We show in this report that the three transcripts which originate from Dd ras during normal development differ in their 5' ends. In suspension of starved single cells, one major Dd ras RNA accumulates upon addition of cAMP. It seems that the cAMP regulation of Dd ras expression happens both at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional level. An RNA secondary structure present in the 5' untranslated region of the gene is proposed to be important in this post-transcriptional regulation.