Cell cycle-dependent regulation of early developmental genes

Cell cycle phase at the onset of development in Dictyostelium influences cell fate. Cells in the G2 phase, which tend to become spores, show a more rapid induction of expression of the cell surface receptor involved in the chemotaxis. We show that differential induction of developmental expression is restricted to some transcripts, including those encoding proteins required for chemotaxis, and thus is not due to general transcriptional repression during mitosis. We also show that cells showing rapid induction of one such gene are preferentially located at the centre of early aggregates. These results are consistent with cells derived from G2 phase being at the centre of early aggregates because selective differences in gene regulation render them more efficient at aggregation.