Severe developmental defects in Dictyostelium null mutants for actin-binding proteins

The actin cytoskeleton is implicated in many cellular processes, such as cell adhesion, locomotion, contraction and cytokinesis, which are central to any development. The extent of polymerization, cross-linking, and bundling of actin is regulated by several actin-binding proteins. Knock-out mutations in these proteins have revealed in many cases only subtle, if any, defects in development, suggesting that the actin system is redundant, with multiple proteins sharing overlapping functions. The apparent redundancy may, however, reflect limitations of available laboratory assays in assessing the developmental role of a given protein. By using a novel assay, which reproduces conditions closer to the natural ones, we have re-examined the effects of disruption of many actin-binding proteins, and show here that deletion of alpha-actinin, interaptin, synexin, 34-kDa actin-bundling protein, and gelation factor affect to varying degrees the efficiency of Dictyostelium cells to complete development and form viable spores. No phenotypic defects were found in hisactophilin or comitin null mutants.