Developmentally and spatially regulated activation of a Dictyostelium STAT protein by a serpentine receptor

Dd-STAT, the protein that in part controls Dictyostelium stalk cell differentiation, is a structural and functional homolog of metazoan signal transducers and activators of transcription (STATs). Although present during growth and throughout development, Dd-STAT's tyrosine phosphorylation and nuclear localization are developmentally and spatially regulated. Prior to late aggregation, Dd-STAT is not tyrosine phosphorylated and is not selectively localized in the nucleus. During mound formation, the time at which cell-type specific gene expression initiates, Dd-STAT becomes tyrosine phosphorylated and translocates into the nuclei of all cells. The tyrosine phosphorylation and nuclear localization of Dd-STAT are induced very rapidly by extracellular cAMP through the serpentine cAMP receptor cAR1, with Dd-STAT tyrosine phosphorylation being detectable within 10 s of stimulation. This activation is independent of the only known Gbeta subunit, suggesting that it may be G-protein independent. Nuclear enrichment of Dd-STAT is selectively maintained within the sub-population of prestalk cells that form the tip, the organizing center of the slug, but is lost in most of the other cells of the slug. This spatial patterning of Dd-STAT nuclear localization is consistent with its known role as a negative regulator of stalk-cell differentiation.