Multi-omics analysis of aggregative multicellularity

The extent to which mRNA and protein levels or their regulation correlate remains obscure, especially during development. In particular, this is true for organisms that exhibit aggregative multicellularity, such as the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum. The transcriptome of D. discoideum has been thoroughly studied during multicellular development, however the proteome and the correlation to the transcriptome during transition from uni- to multicellular life have not been analyzed in detail. Here, we present the first paired transcriptomics and proteomics developmental time series during aggregative multicellularity. The dataset reveals that mRNA and protein levels correlate highly during growth, but decrease when multicellular development is initiated. This accentuates that transcripts alone cannot accurately describe gene expression. This dataset can therefore be an important resource to study gene expression during aggregative multicellular development, in particular in D. discoideum.