- THIS ARTICLE
- Full Text (PDF)
- Alert me when this article is cited
- Alert me if a correction is posted
- SERVICES
- Email this article to a friend
- Similar articles in this journal
- Similar articles in PubMed
- Alert me to new issues of the journal
- Download to citation manager
- Reprints & Permissions
- CITING ARTICLES
- Citing Articles via HighWire
- Citing Articles via Google Scholar
- GOOGLE SCHOLAR
- Articles by Hong, C. C.
- Articles by Hashimoto, C.
- Search for Related Content
- PUBMED
- PubMed Citation
- Articles by Hong, C. C.
- Articles by Hashimoto, C.
Genetics, Vol 143, 1653-1661, Copyright © 1996
INVESTIGATIONS |
The Maternal Nudel Protein of Drosophila Has Two Distinct Roles Important for Embryogenesis
C. C. Hong and C. Hashimoto
Departments of Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520
The nudel gene is maternally required to define dorsoventral polarity of the Drosophila embryo. It encodes an unusual mosaic protein with a protease domain that may trigger the protease cascade required for ventral development. We describe phenotypic and molecular analyses of nudel mutations that provide further insight into nudel protein function. Surprisingly, nudel mutations primarily cause either dorsalized embryos in which dorsal cell fates are expanded over ventral and lateral cell fates or fragile eggs that fail to develop beyond early embryonic stages. The nudel protein is therefore required not only for embryonic dorsoventral polarity but also for structural integrity of the egg. Complementation and antagonistic interactions between nudel alleles suggest that the nudel protein is functionally modular and that protein-protein interactions are important for nudel protein function. Three nudel mutations that produce dorsalized embryos map to the protease domain of nudel, suggesting that this domain is specifically required for defining embryonic dorsoventral polarity. Finally, certain combinations of nudel alleles simultaneously produce completely dorsalized and normal embryos yet very few embryos of intermediate mutant phenotypes. The unusual biphasic distribution of phenotypes may indicate that nudel activity above a threshold is required to generate embryonic dorsoventral polarity.
This article has been cited by other articles:
 |
|
 |
|
  W. Tadros, S. A. Houston, A. Bashirullah, R. L. Cooperstock, J. L. Semotok, B. H. Reed, and H. D. Lipshitz Regulation of Maternal Transcript Destabilization During Egg Activation in Drosophila Genetics, July 1, 2003; 164(3): 989 - 1001. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 D. Andrenacci, F. M. Cernilogar, C. Taddei, D. Rotoli, V. Cavaliere, F. Graziani, and G. Gargiulo Specific domains drive VM32E protein distribution and integration in Drosophila eggshell layers J. Cell Sci., January 8, 2001; 114(15): 2819 - 2829. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J.-H. Han, S. H. Lee, Y.-Q. Tan, E. K. LeMosy, and C. Hashimoto Gastrulation Defective is a serine protease involved in activating the receptor Toll to polarize the Drosophila embryo PNAS, August 1, 2000; 97(16): 9093 - 9097. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
E. K. LeMosy, C. L. Leclerc, and C. Hashimoto Biochemical Defects of Mutant nudel Alleles Causing Early Developmental Arrest or Dorsalization of the Drosophila Embryo Genetics, January 1, 2000; 154(1): 247 - 257. [Abstract] [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. M. Krem, T. Rose, and E. Di Cera The C-terminal Sequence Encodes Function in Serine Proteases J. Biol. Chem., October 1, 1999; 274(40): 28063 - 28066. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 E. LeMosy, D Kemler, and C Hashimoto Role of Nudel protease activation in triggering dorsoventral polarization of the Drosophila embryo Development, January 10, 1998; 125(20): 4045 - 4053. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. Konsolaki and T. Schupbach windbeutel, a gene required for dorsoventral patterning in Drosophila, encodes a protein that has homologies to vertebrate proteins of the endoplasmic reticulum Genes & Dev., January 1, 1998; 12(1): 120 - 131. [Abstract] [Full Text]
|
|
|