%0 Journal Article
%T Transcriptional Repression by a bZIP Protein Regulates Dictyostelium Prespore Differentiation
%A Beatriz Nu£żez-Corcuera
%A Joanna L. Birch
%A Yoko Yamada
%A Jeffrey G. Williams
%J PLOS ONE
%D 2012
%I Public Library of Science (PLoS)
%R 10.1371/journal.pone.0029895
%X In response to the signaling polyketide DIF-1 DimB directly activates transcription of the ecmB gene in pstB cells; a subset of the prestalk cells that are the precursors of the basal disc. We show that the promoter of pspA, a prespore-specific gene, also contains a DimB binding site. Mutation of this site causes ectopic expression in the prestalk region and ChIP analysis shows that DIF-1 induces binding of DimB to the pspA promoter. DIF-1 represses pspA gene expression in a suspension cell assay but this repression is abrogated in a dimB null strain. These results suggest a coupled control mechanism, whereby the same DIF-DimB signaling pathway that directly activates ecmB gene expression directly represses pspA gene expression.
%U http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0029895