Pauline Schaap

TL;DR: Sequenced and annotated the Polysphondylium violaceum genome, performed cell type-specific transcriptomics to identify cell-type marker genes, and developed transformation and gene knock-out procedures for Pvio indicate that, although conserved, stlB and its product acquired both a novel role in the group 4 Dictyostelia and a role opposite to that in its sister group.

TL;DR: The social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum expresses five ras genes at different stages of development, one of them, DdrasD, is expressed during postaggregative development and transcription is induced by extracellular cAMP as discussed by the authors.

TL;DR: The data indicate that the extracellular signals controlling stalk formation and their intracellular signaling cascades including gene regulatory proteins remained highly conserved during slime mold evolution.

TL;DR: The data show that GSK3 has a deeply conserved role in controlling cytokinesis, but not spore differentiation in Dictyostelia, and that gsk3− amoebas entered into encystation under conditions that in wild type favour aggregation and fruiting body formation.

TL;DR: It is concluded that the amino-glycoside phosphotransferase encoded by the very commonly used NEOR selection marker induces ectopic ACG activity in Dictyostelium cells.