Developmental regulation of DNase I-hypersensitive sites in Dictyostelium discoideum.

We have studied two regions of Dictyostelium discoideum chromatin and identified several DNase I-hypersensitive sites in these regions. One of these sites is located about 300 to 500 bases upstream of the transcriptional start site of a gene that is expressed at all stages of development. This site is present in both vegetative cells and postaggregation cells. Another hypersensitive site is associated with a gene that is expressed only after the multicellular stage. This site is located about 400 bases upstream of the start site, and it is present only in postaggregation cells. Thus, much like higher eucaryotes, D. discoideum contains DNase I-hypersensitive sites that may be involved in the regulation of the genes with which they are associated.