Abstract
The class I myosins play important roles in controlling many different types of actin-based cell movements. Dictyostelium cells either lacking or overexpressing amoeboid myosin Is have significant defects in cortical activities such as pseudopod extension, cell migration, and macropinocytosis. The existence of Dictyostelium null mutants with strong phenotypic defects permits complementation analysis as a means of exploring important functional features of the myosin I heavy chain. Mutant Dictyostelium cells lacking two myosin Is exhibit profound defects in growth, endocytosis, and rearrangement of F-actin. Expression of the full-length myoB heavy chain in these cells fully rescues the double mutant defects. However, mutant forms of the myoB heavy chain in which a serine at the consensus phosphorylation site has been altered to an alanine or in which the C-terminal SH3 domain has been removed fail to complement the null phenotype. The wild-type and mutant forms of the myoB heavy chain appeared to be properly localized when they were expressed in the myosin I null mutants. These results suggest that the amoeboid myosin I consensus phosphorylation site and SH3 domains do not play a role in the localization of myosin I, but are absolutely required for in vivo function.