Disease relevance of Prat

• Using the GAL4-UAS system, Prat RNAi driven by Act5c-GAL4 or tubP-GAL4 causes variable pupal lethality (48-100%) and approximately 50% female sterility, depending on the transgenic strains and drivers used [1].

High impact information on Prat

• We conclude that Prat2 is required during the prepupal stage while Prat is more important for the pupal stage [1].
• This observation agrees with the phenotype previously observed for Prat EMS-induced mutations [1].
• PRAT (phosphoribosylamidotransferase; E.C. 2.4.2.14) catalyzes the first reaction in de novo purine nucleotide biosynthesis [1].
• To study the regulation of Prat expression in the adult eye, we used the Prat:bw reporter gene, in which the Prat coding region was replaced with the brown (bw) coding region [2].
• Quantification of their effect on endogenous Prat gene expression, using RT-PCR in young adult fly heads, identifies a subset of modifiers that are candidates for genes involved in regulating Prat expression [2].

Biological context of Prat

• Prat mutations have a recessive lethal phenotype that is found for other genes encoding enzymes in this pathway [3].
• The absence of introns in both DmelPrat and DvirPrat genes suggests that Prat originated from a retrotransposition of Prat2 and that the gene duplication has been preserved in the two species since their divergence approximately 40 million years ago [3].
• We studied the maternal-effect phenotype caused by Prat loss-of-function mutations, allowing us to examine the effects of decreased purine de novo synthesis during oogenesis and the early stages of embryonic development [4].
• Prat was localized to the right arm of chromosome 3 at polytene band 84E1-2 [5].
• In Drosophila, the AIRc-SAICARs gene maps to section 11B4-14 of the X chromosome, while the phosphoribosylamidotransferase gene (Prat) maps to chromosome 3; thus, the close linkage of these two genes is not conserved in flies [6].

Associations of Prat with chemical compounds

• The Drosophila melanogaster Prat gene encodes amidophosphoribosyltransferase (PRAT; EC 2.4.2.14), which performs the first step in de novo purine nucleotide synthesis [3].

References