Characterizing the roles of Memo in TGFߠSignalling

Drosoplzila nemo encodes a serine threonine MAP kinase that is involved in patterning and cell fate determination. nemo participates in crosstalk with several pathways; with studies linking the vertebrate homologue, nlk to the TGFP pathway. TGFPs are structurally related extracellular polypeptides including the Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (BMPs) that are potent regulators of development. In Drosophila the BMP molecules Decapentaplegic (Dpp) and Glass bottom boat (Gbb) promote vein formation while Nemo promotes intervein fates. Genetic studies revealed that Nemo counteracts the effects of components of the BMP pathway; and nemo mutant pupal wings show high levels of BMP signalling activity in ectopic veins, supporting an inhibitory role for Nemo on BMP activity. These studies show that nemo may act as a negative regulator of TGFP signalling; and supports the emerging roles of nemo as an important regulator of signalling in different pathways.