dictyNews Volume 04 Number 14

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Dicty News

 · 18 Dec 2023

CSM News 
Electronic Edition 
Volume 4, number 14 
April 15, 1995 

Please submit abstracts of your papers as soon as they have been 
accepted for publication by sending them to CSM-News@worms.cmsbio.nwu.edu. 

Back issues of CSM-News, the CSM Reference database and other useful 
information is available by anonymous ftp from worms.cmsbio.nwu.edu 
[165.124.233.50], via Gopher at the same address, or by World Wide Web 
at the URL "http://worms.cmsbio.nwu.edu/dicty.html" 

=============== 
 Announcements 
=============== 

Ikuo Takeuchi writes: 

        This is to inform you that I was elected  Presedent of Okazaki 
National Research Institutes (ONRI) in Japan on April 1st, 1995.  I have 
kept my e-mail and postal addresses and telephone number, but have changed 
fax number to 81-564-55-4386.   

        The Institutes are complex of three independent Institutes, 
Institute for Molecular Science (chemistry), National Institute for Basic 
Biology (biology), and National Institute for Physiological Sciences 
(physiology).  If you are interested in having Annual Report of any 
Institute, please let me know, so that I could send you  a copy. 

        I like to remind you that International Dictyostelium Conference 
1996 will be held in Japan, after a coming one to be held this year in 
Dourdan near Paris.  Professor Yasuo Maeda of Tohoku University is going to 
organise one in Japan and I hope that you enjoy both the meeting and hot 
spring near Sendai. 

Ikuo Takeuchi 
President 
Okazaki National Research Institutes 
                                         
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Thierry Soldati writes: 

MAX-PLANCK-INSTITUT fur MEDIZINISCHE FORSCHUNG 
ABTEILUNG MOLEKULARE ZELLFORSCHUNG 

Postdoctoral position in Molecular Cell Research 

Involvement of unconventional myosins in membrane structure and 
trafficking 

The successful applicants will be involved in the investigation of the 
potential roles of newly discovered members of the myosin superfamily 
in mechanisms of membrane structure and trafficking as well as their 
link to vesicular movement and targeting.  The main model organism 
used for these studies, beside work on tissue culture cells, will be 
Dictyostelium discoideum.  Therefore, projects will be aimed at the 
discovery, characterization and dissection of novel myosin molecules 
and their associated proteins, as well as a functional analysis of 
their importance for membrane structure and movement.  Techniques 
involved will include molecular biology approaches using PCR and 
reverse PCR, as well as direct biochemical purification and membrane 
biology work. 

Applicants should have relevant experience in the techniques involved, 
a keen interest for problems linked to cellular cytoarchitecture and a 
vast supply of enthusiasm to work at the interface of the domains of 
cytoskeleton and membrane biology.  Salary, according to 
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft regulation, will start around 3200.- DM 
monthly, according to familial status, qualification and experience. 
Applications including a CV, a short description of research 
accomplishments and future interests, a publication list and the names 
of two referees should be sent to: 

	Dr. Thierry Soldati 
	Max-Planck-Institut f?r Medizinische Forschung 
	Abteilung Molekulare Zellforschung 
	Jahnstrasse 29 
	D-69058 Heidelberg, Germany 

	Tel No: +49 6221 486407 
	FAX No: +49 6221 486325 
	E-mail: soldati@mzf.mpimf-heidelberg.mpg.de 

 
=========== 
 Abstracts 
=========== 

Self- and non-self-recognition in bisexual mating of Dictyostelium 
discoideum 

ISSEI HIGUCHI, YASUKO KANEMURA, HAJIME SHIMIZU AND HIDEKO URUSHIHARA 

UNIVERSITY OF TSUKUBA, INSTITUTE OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, TSUKUBA, 
IBARAKI 305 JAPAN 

Development Growth & Differentiation, in press 

ABSTRACT 

     Cell recognition plays a central part in the sexual process. 
Although cell-surface molecules involved in gamete recognition have 
been identified in several organisms, our knowledge on the molecular 
basis of sexual cell recognition is still limited.  We have been 
studying molecular mechanisms of sexual cell fusion using the lower 
eukaryote Dictyostelium discoideum. There are homothallic, 
heterothallic, bisexual and asexual strains in D. discoideum, and how 
they recognize each from the other to find out proper partners is an 
interesting and important question.  However, analytical studies of 
sexuality in D. discoideum have been carried out mostly on 
heterothallic strains, and the polymorphism of the mating system has 
not yet been thoroughly investigated. 

     In the present study, we extended our analysis to the bisexual 
mating phenomenon paying special attention to the mechanism of 
self-incompatibility.  We showed that a bisexual strain WS2162 was 
self-incompatible at the step of sexual cell fusion. Results of 
antibody inhibition of cell fusion and detection of gp138, a 
cell-fusion-related protein found in heterothallic strains, suggest 
that molecular bases for bisexual and heterothallic mating are common. 
We propose two models to clarify the mechanisms of self- and 
non-self discrimination in bisexual mating of D. discoideum. 

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[End CSM News, volume 4, number 14]