The Toll gene of Drosophila, required for dorsal-ventral embryonic polarity, appears to encode a transmembrane protein

Cell. 1988 Jan 29;52(2):269-79. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(88)90516-8.

Abstract

The Toll gene of Drosophila, a maternal effect gene that plays a central role in the establishment of the embryonic dorsal-ventral pattern, has been cloned using P element tagging. A 5.3 kb poly(A)+ ovarian transcript from the cloned region was purified by hybrid selection with the cloned DNA. This purified transcript complements the Toll mutant phenotype when injected into Toll- embryos, which proves that it is the Toll transcript. The sequence of cDNAs suggests that the Toll protein is an integral membrane protein with a cytoplasmic domain and a large extracytoplasmic domain. The putative extracytoplasmic domain contains at least 15 repeats of a 24 amino acid, leucine-rich sequence found in both human and yeast membrane proteins.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Alleles
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Base Sequence
  • Chromosomes / ultrastructure
  • DNA / genetics
  • DNA / isolation & purification
  • DNA Transposable Elements
  • DNA, Recombinant / isolation & purification
  • Drosophila / embryology
  • Drosophila / genetics*
  • Female
  • Hybridization, Genetic
  • Membrane Proteins / genetics*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Mutation
  • Nucleic Acid Hybridization
  • Phenotype
  • Poly A / genetics
  • RNA / genetics
  • RNA, Messenger
  • Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid
  • Transcription, Genetic

Substances

  • DNA Transposable Elements
  • DNA, Recombinant
  • Membrane Proteins
  • RNA, Messenger
  • Poly A
  • RNA
  • DNA

Associated data

  • GENBANK/J02682
  • GENBANK/M19969