Translational control of protein synthesis during the early stages of differentiation of the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum

As analyzed by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, no new proteins are synthesized during the first 60 min of differentiation of Dictyostelium discoideum. The major change observed is the cessation of synthesis of five polypeptides and the reduction in the relative rates of synthesis of several more. We show here that this specific inhibition of protein synthesis is under translational control; the mRNAs for these proteins persevere in the cell in a translatable form for as long as 4 hr of differentiation, but these proteins are not synthesized by the cells after 2 min of development. As determined by analysis of the subcellular distribution of ribosomes and messenger RNA, there is a precipitous drop in the overall rate of polypeptide chain initiation during the first 5 min of differentiation. To interrelate and explain these phenomena, we show that a recent kinetic analysis of mRNA translation can explain how a reduction in the activity of a component of the initiation machinery required for translation of all mRNAs, such as an initiation factor, could result in a reduction in the overall rate of chain initiation and also a preferential inhibition of translation of certain mRNAs.