@article{1830, keywords = {Signal Transduction, Models, Biological, Quorum Sensing, Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer, Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases, Cell Aggregation, Stochastic Processes, Cytosol, Periodicity, 3{\textquoteright},5{\textquoteright}-Cyclic-AMP Phosphodiesterases, Adenylate Cyclase, Cell Count, Cyclic AMP, Dictyostelium, Protozoan Proteins}, author = {Thomas Gregor and Koichi Fujimoto and Noritaka Masaki and Satoshi Sawai}, title = {The onset of collective behavior in social amoebae.}, abstract = {
In the social amoebae Dictyostelium discoideum, periodic synthesis and release of extracellular cyclic adenosine 3{\textquoteright},5{\textquoteright}-monophosphate (cAMP) guide cell aggregation and commitment to form fruiting bodies. It is unclear whether these oscillations are an intrinsic property of individual cells or if they exist only as a population-level phenomenon. Here, we showed by live-cell imaging of intact cell populations that pulses originate from a discrete location despite constant exchange of cells to and from the region. In a perfusion chamber, both isolated single cells and cell populations switched from quiescence to rhythmic activity depending on the concentration of extracellular cAMP. A quantitative analysis showed that stochastic pulsing of individual cells below the threshold concentration of extracellular cAMP plays a critical role in the onset of collective behavior.
}, year = {2010}, journal = {Science}, volume = {328}, pages = {1021-5}, month = {05/2010}, language = {eng}, }