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Phospholipase Cδ regulates germination of

Published by National Institutes of Health | U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | Catalog Last Checked: September 07, 2025 at 10:23 AM | Dataset Last Updated: September 06, 2025
Background Many eukaryotes, including plants and fungi make spores that resist severe environmental stress. The micro-organism Dictyostelium contains a single phospholipase C gene (PLC); deletion of the gene has no effect on growth, cell movement and differentiation. In this report we show that PLC is essential to sense the environment of food-activated spores. Results Plc-null spores germinate at alkaline pH, reduced temperature or increased osmolarity, conditions at which the emerging amoebae can not grow. In contrast, food-activated wild-type spores return to dormancy till conditions in the environment allow growth. The analysis of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) levels and the effect of added IP3 uncover an unexpected mechanism how PLC regulates spore germination: i) deletion of PLC induces the enhanced activity of an IP5 phosphatase leading to high IP3 levels in plc-null cells; ii) in wild-type spores unfavourable conditions inhibit PLC leading to a reduction of IP3 levels; addition of exogenous IP3 to wild-type spores induces germination at unfavourable conditions; iii) in plc-null spores IP3 levels remain high, also at unfavourable environmental conditions. Conclusions The results imply that environmental conditions regulate PLC activity and that IP3 induces spore germination; the uncontrolled germination of plc-null spores is not due to a lack of PLC activity but to the constitutive activation of an alternative IP3-forming pathway.

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