Spätzle or spaetzle (German for a type of noodle) is an evolutionarily-conserved arthropod protein first identified in Drosophila melanogaster.[1] It plays a role in embryonic development and in the insect innate immune response. The name was coined by the Nobel laureate Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard after the Spätzle noodle-like form of homozygous mutant fly larvae.[2]

Spätzle (gene)
Identifiers
OrganismDrosophila melanogaster
Symbolspz
UniProtP48607
Search for
StructuresSwiss-model
DomainsInterPro
Spätzle
Identifiers
SymbolSpaetzle
PfamPF16077
InterProIPR032104
Available protein structures:
Pfam  structures / ECOD  
PDBRCSB PDB; PDBe; PDBj
PDBsumstructure summary
Toll signaling pathways in mammals, shrimp and fruit flies

Structure

edit

Spätzle has a cystine knot structure supported by disulfide bridges, is glycosylated, and naturally forms a homodimer. Multiple forms are produced by alternative splicing.[3] It is produced as a preprotein, and needs to be activated by a serine protease called spätzle-processing enzyme [de]. The signal sequence spz[1-25] is first cleaved, followed by the spz[26-220] fragment, leaving the final spz[221-326] (Spaetzle C-106) part as the mature protein.[4]

Function

edit

Homodimeric spz binds to a dimeric toll receptor in fruit flies and related organisms, thus activating the signaling cascade.[5]

Embryonic development

edit

A ligand of the toll pathway, spz is involved in the formation of the dorso-ventral axis in embryonic development. [6]

References

edit
  1. ^ Stein D, Nüsslein-Volhard C (February 1992). "Multiple extracellular activities in Drosophila egg perivitelline fluid are required for establishment of embryonic dorsal-ventral polarity". Cell. 68 (3): 429–40. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(92)90181-b. PMID 1739964. S2CID 20617175.429-40&rft.date=1992-02&rft_id=https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:20617175#id-name=S2CID&rft_id=info:pmid/1739964&rft_id=info:doi/10.1016/0092-8674(92)90181-b&rft.aulast=Stein&rft.aufirst=D&rft.au=Nüsslein-Volhard, C&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Spätzle (gene)" class="Z3988">
  2. ^ "Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard in Biologie | Schülerlexikon | Lernhelfer". www.lernhelfer.de (in German). Retrieved 2019-11-19.
  3. ^ DeLotto Y, Smith C, DeLotto R (January 2001). "Multiple isoforms of the Drosophila Spätzle protein are encoded by alternatively spliced maternal mRNAs in the precellular blastoderm embryo". Molecular & General Genetics. 264 (5): 643–52. doi:10.1007/s004380000350. PMID 11212919. S2CID 1456450.643-52&rft.date=2001-01&rft_id=https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:1456450#id-name=S2CID&rft_id=info:pmid/11212919&rft_id=info:doi/10.1007/s004380000350&rft.aulast=DeLotto&rft.aufirst=Y&rft.au=Smith, C&rft.au=DeLotto, R&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Spätzle (gene)" class="Z3988">
  4. ^ P48607
  5. ^ Morisato D, Anderson KV (February 1994). "The spätzle gene encodes a component of the extracellular signaling pathway establishing the dorsal-ventral pattern of the Drosophila embryo". Cell. 76 (4): 677–88. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(94)90507-x. PMID 8124709. S2CID 26328826.677-88&rft.date=1994-02&rft_id=https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:26328826#id-name=S2CID&rft_id=info:pmid/8124709&rft_id=info:doi/10.1016/0092-8674(94)90507-x&rft.aulast=Morisato&rft.aufirst=D&rft.au=Anderson, KV&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Spätzle (gene)" class="Z3988">
  6. ^ Morisato, Donald (15 June 2001). "Spätzle regulates the shape of the Dorsal gradient in the Drosophila embryo". Development. 128 (12): 2309–2319. doi:10.1242/dev.128.12.2309. PMID 11493550. Retrieved 10 February 2023.2309-2319&rft.date=2001-06-15&rft_id=info:doi/10.1242/dev.128.12.2309&rft_id=info:pmid/11493550&rft.aulast=Morisato&rft.aufirst=Donald&rft_id=https://journals.biologists.com/dev/article/128/12/2309/41278/Spa-tzle-regulates-the-shape-of-the-Dorsal&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Spätzle (gene)" class="Z3988">