Detecting functional interactions in a gene and signaling network by time‐resolved somatic complementation analysis

Marwan, Wolfgang

doi:10.1002/bies.10342

Cited by 10 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 49 publications

(57 reference statements)

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“…While cell fusion remains a relatively rare event restricted to particular cell types in animals, it constitutes a defining feature of the lifestyle of most filamentous fungi and slime moulds. In these organisms, cell fusion enhances foraging success [6,7] and provides the potential for cell assistance through resource sharing [8][9][10][11]. Here, using the unicellular slime mould Physarum polycephalum as a model system, we report a new feature of cell fusion never described before: the transmission of learned behaviour from one cell to another.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 72%

Direct transfer of learned behaviour via cell fusion in non-neural organisms

Vogel

Dussutour

2016

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Cell fusion is a fundamental phenomenon observed in all eukaryotes. Cells can exchange resources such as molecules or organelles during fusion. In this paper, we ask whether a cell can also transfer an adaptive response to a fusion partner. We addressed this question in the unicellular slime mould Physarum polycephalum, in which cell-cell fusion is extremely common. Slime moulds are capable of habituation, a simple form of learning, when repeatedly exposed to an innocuous repellent, despite lacking neurons and comprising only a single cell. In this paper, we present a set of experiments demonstrating that slime moulds habituated to a repellent can transfer this adaptive response by cell fusion to individuals that have never encountered the repellent. In addition, we show that a slime mould resulting from the fusion of a minority of habituated slime moulds and a majority of unhabituated ones still shows an adaptive response to the repellent. Finally, we further reveal that fusion must last a certain time to ensure an effective transfer of the behavioural adaptation between slime moulds. Our results provide strong experimental evidence that slime moulds exhibit transfer of learned behaviour during cell fusion and raise the possibility that similar phenomena may occur in other cell-cell fusion systems.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 72%

Direct transfer of learned behaviour via cell fusion in non-neural organisms

Vogel

Dussutour

2016

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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“…15 In this study, we used the plasmodium, a natural macroscopic multinucleate single-cell stage from Physarum , whose culture and handling is straightforward, and for which there are several well established methods for genetic manipulation. 3…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Due to its rich cell biology, Physarum is a model organism for cell motility 1 and cell differentiation. 2–4 More recently in RNA editing, 5 Physarum is also a model organism for DNA replication, 6 optimization of cell morphology 7 and behavioral intelligence. 8 During its branched life cycle, Physarum differentiates into several cell types that occur in temporal order (Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Next-Generation Sequencing Approach to Study the Transcriptomic Changes during the Differentiation ofPhysarumat the Single-Cell Level

Barrantes

Leipzig

Marwan

2012

Gene�Regul Syst Bio

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Physarum polycephalum is a unicellular eukaryote belonging to the amoebozoa group of organisms. The complex life cycle involves various cell types that differ in morphology, function, and biochemical composition. Sporulation, one step in the life cycle, is a stimulus-controlled differentiation response of macroscopic plasmodial cells that develop into fruiting bodies. Well-established Mendelian genetics and the occurrence of macroscopic cells with a naturally synchronous population of nuclei as source of homogeneous cell material for biochemical analyses make Physarum an attractive model organism for studying the regulatory control of cell differentiation. Here, we develop an approach using RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq), without needing to rely on a genome sequence as a reference, for studying the transcriptomic changes during stimulus-triggered commitment to sporulation in individual plasmodial cells. The approach is validated through the obtained expression patterns and annotations, and particularly the results from up- and downregulated genes, which correlate well with previous studies.

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