High impact information on nmo

• We show here that lit-1 encodes a serine/threonine protein kinase homolog related to the Drosophila tissue polarity protein Nemo [1].
• Genetic mosaic analysis indicates that the nmo gene acts upon each cluster as a whole; normal nmo function in one or more photoreceptor cells appears to be sufficient to induce full rotation [2].
• We have generated, by ethylmethane sulfonate mutagenesis, loss-of-function mutants in the Drosophila homolog of the mammalian I-kappa B kinase (IKK) complex component IKK gamma (also called NEMO) [3].
• In addition, the activation of Wg-dependent gene expression is suppressed in wing discs ectopically expressing nmo and enhanced cell autonomously in nmo mutant clones [4].
• This pattern is established during disc development, when clusters rotate through 90 degrees, a process dependent on planar cell polarity and rotation-specific factors such as Nemo and Scabrous [5].

Biological context of nmo

• Nlk2 gene and Nlkp pseudogene, consisting of a single exon, were not evolutionarily conserved [6].
• Rat Nlk2 gene and Nlkp pseudogene were mapped to rat chromosome 13p13 and 2q44, respectively [6].
• This is the first report on the Nlk gene and retrotransposed Nlk homologs within the rat genome [6].
• Nlk gene, consisting of 11 exons, was mapped to rat chromosome 10q25 [6].
• Here, we identified and characterized rat Nlk gene, Nlk2 gene and Nlkp pseudogene by using bioinformatics [6].

Associations of nmo with chemical compounds

• The nmo gene sequence encodes a serine/threonine protein kinase homolog, suggesting that the kinase is required to initiate the second step of rotation [2].

Regulatory relationships of nmo

• Equator-outwards progression of elav expression and expression of the nemo gene in the morphogenetic furrow are regulated by frizzled, which itself is dynamically expressed about the morphogenetic furrow [7].
• In cell culture, phosphorylation by Nemo blocks the nuclear accumulation of Mad by promoting export of Mad from the nucleus in a kinase-dependent manner [8].

Other interactions of nmo

• Nemo is an inducible antagonist of Wingless signaling during Drosophila wing development [4].
• Genetic analyses in the eye indicate that dTAK can also act through the p38 and Nemo kinases in imaginal discs [9].
• Drosophila nemo was identified through its involvement in epithelial planar polarity, a process regulated by a non-canonical Wnt pathway [10].
• Finally, we present genetic data from the adult wing that suggest the activity of ectopically expressed Nemo can be modulated by Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling [10].

References