Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 98, Issue 9, Pages 5055-5060Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.081026598
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- NIGMS NIH HHS [GM49370, R01 GM049370] Funding Source: Medline
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Dorsoventral patterning of the Drosophila embryo is initiated by a ventralizing signal. Production of this signal requires the serine proteases Gastrulation Defective (GD), Snake, and Easter, which genetic studies suggest act sequentially in a cascade that is activated locally in response to a ventral cue provided by the pipe gene. Here, we demonstrate biochemically that GD activates Snake, which in turn activates Easter. We also provide evidence that GD zymogen cleavage is important for triggering this cascade but is not spatially localized by pipe. Our results suggest that a broadly, rather than locally, activated protease cascade produces the ventralizing signal, so a distinct downstream step in this cascade must be spatially regulated to restrict signaling to the ventral side of the embryo.
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