A Comparison of the Proteins of the Amoebal and Plasanodial Phases of the Slime Mould, Physarum polycephalum

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Abstract
The proteins of amoebae and plasmodia of strain CL of P. polycephalum were compared by 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Both forms of the organism were labeled by growth on formalin-killed bacteria labeled with [35S]sulfate, [3H]lysine or [14C]lysine. Plasmodia were also labeled from radioactive lysine in the medium. Of 306 relatively abundant proteins examined, 26% were phase-specific, that is they were found only in amoebae or in plasmodia. About a quarter of these apparent differences in gene expression may be due to minor changes in charge and/or size. Amongst the 74% of the proteins present in both amoebae and plasmodia, there are substantial differences in differential rates of synthesis and these were measured for a representative set of proteins by a double-label procedure.