dictyNews Electronic Edition Volume 32, number 14 May 29, 2009 Please submit abstracts of your papers as soon as they have been accepted for publication by sending them to dicty@northwestern.edu or by using the form at http://dictybase.org/db/cgi-bin/dictyBase/abstract_submit. Back issues of dictyNews, the Dicty Reference database and other useful information is available at dictyBase - http://dictybase.org. ========= Abstracts ========= PTEN is a mechanosensing signal transducer for myosin II localization  in Dictyostelium cells Md. Kamruzzaman Pramanik, Miho Iijima, Yoshiaki Iwadate,  Shigehiko Yumura       Genes to Cells, in press To investigate the role of PTEN in regulation of cortical motile activity,  especially in myosin II localization, eGFP-PTEN and mRFP-myosin II  were simultaneously expressed in Dictyostelium cells.  PTEN and  myosin II co-localized at the posterior of migrating cells and furrow  region of dividing cells.  In suspension culture, PTEN knockout (pten–)  cells became multinucleated, and myosin II significantly decreased in  amount at the furrow. During pseudopod retraction and cell aspiration  by microcapillary, PTEN accumulated at the tips of pseudopods and  aspirated lobes prior to the accumulation of myosin II.  In pten– cells,  only a small amount of myosin II accumulated at the retracting  pseudopods and aspirated cell lobes.  PTEN accumulated at the  retracting pseudopods and aspirated lobes even in myosin II null  cells and latrunculin B-treated cells though in reduced amounts,  indicating that PTEN accumulates partially depending on myosin II  and cortical actin.  Accumulation of PTEN prior to myosin II suggests  that PTEN is an upstream component in signaling pathway to localize  myosin II, possibly with mechanosensing signaling loop where  actomyosin-driven contraction further augments accumulation of  PTEN and myosin II by a positive feedback mechanism. Submitted by: Shigehiko Yumura [yumura@yamaguchi-u.ac.jp] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Learning to get along despite struggling to get by Elizabeth A Ostrowski* and Gad Shaulsky† *Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Rice University, Houston,  TX 77005, USA.  †Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine,  Houston, TX 77030, USA. Genome Biology 10:218 doi:10.1186/gb-2009-10-5-218 How cooperation can evolve by natural selection is important for  understanding the evolutionary transition from unicellular to multicellular  life. Here we review the evolutionary theories for cooperation, with  emphasis on the mechanisms that can favor cooperation and reduce  conflict in multicellular organisms. Submitted by: Elizabeth Ostrowski [ostrowski@rice.edu] ============================================================== [End dictyNews, volume 32, number 14]