GDP stimulates the phosphorylation of a 36-kDa membrane protein in Dictyostelium discoideum.

Increasing effort is directed toward elucidating the mechanisms by which guanine nucleotide-binding proteins regulate specific cellular processes. A common feature of this class of proteins is that GTP induces a transition from an inactive to an active conformation. The latter is limited by the hydrolysis of GTP and the coincident production of GDP. Here we provide evidence that guanine nucleotides may regulate biological processes by inducing the phosphorylation of specific proteins. In particular, we report a GDP-dependent phosphorylation of p36, a 36-kDa protein of Dictyostelium discoideum plasma membranes.