Antisense RNA inhibition of expression of a pair of tandemly repeated genes results in a delay in cell-cell adhesion in Dictyostelium.

Two tandem genes code for a protein recognized by antibodies to gp24, a small surface protein implicated in cell-cell adhesion of Dictyostelium discoideum. However, these genes do not appear to code for gp24 itself. We have transformed cells with a cloned vector that directs the synthesis of antisense RNA from one of the pair of tandemly repeated genes during the first 4 hr of development. During this period, gp24 protein fails to accumulate and the cells do not become mutually adhesive. Antisense RNA encoded by this vector is unstable and rapidly disappears after synthesis stops. gp24 protein then accumulates and the cells acquire cell-cell adhesion and proceed through development.