Transmembrane signal transduction regulates gene expression in Dictyostelium discoideum.

cAMP regulates gene expression in Dictyostelium discoideum through the cell surface receptor and is therefore a transmembrane signal transduction event. We have now begun to examine the signal transduction pathway that transmits the cAMP-induced signal to the nucleus. The results presented here indicate that Ca2+ plays a crucial role. A comparison of the accumulation of UDPGP1 mRNA during development with the corresponding transcription rates revealed that this gene is regulated primarily at the level of transcription. To elucidate the factors involved in the regulation of the UDPGP1 gene we characterized its cis acting sequences. We constructed a series of deletions into the 5' flanking region of the UDPGP1 gene and analyzed the expression of the mutated DNA in transformants. A sequence element essential for the expression of the UDPGP1 gene is located between -500 bp and -288 bp from the transcription start site. This promoter element appears to be a short G + C-rich sequence positioned between -374 to -395 and coincides with a DNase I hypersensitive site.