Dictyostelium: an ideal organism for genetic dissection of Ras signalling networks

Signalling pathways based on the small GTPase Ras regulate a multitude of c ellular events in eukaryotic cells;. Dictyostelium expresses a large and va ried family of Ras proteins. It also uses a range of known Ras regulators, in particular RasGEFs, and effecters. The genetic tractability of Dictyoste lium. together with the wide range of Ras proteins and regulators, make it an ideal model for the genetic dissection of Ras pathways. This review high lights the recent advances in our understanding of Ras function in Dictyost elium, and considers the implications of these findings for our understandi ng of eukaryotic signal transduction. (C) 2001 published by Elsevier Scienc e B.V.