Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 9, 2026

In Vivo Functional Study of Disease-associated Rare Human Variants Using Drosophila
Published on: August 20, 2019
Evolutionary conservation of the leucine-rich repeat transmembrane protein Gp150 in Drosophila and Bombyx
D Dhulkotia1, D Nguyen, Z C Lai
1Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
Abstract:
Gp150 is a transmembrane glycoprotein belonging to the leucine-rich repeat (LRR) superfamily. Here we report the molecular characterization of a Gp150 homolog in Drosophila virilis, which is separated from Drosophila melanogaster by about 60 million years. A silkworm Bombyx mori Gp150 homolog was identified through a sequence database search. Sequence analysis revealed high conservation in the LRRs and cysteine motifs flanking the LRR region in the extracellular domain of Gp150. Using an in vivo assay, we demonstrated that the extracellular domain is essential for Gp150 function. Moreover, structural features unique to the Gp150 proteins were identified that include an incomplete carboxy-flanking cysteine motif, acidic regions on both sides of the LRR region in the extracellular domain, and a short cytoplasmic domain with three putative tyrosine phosphorylation motifs, which might be involved in interaction with SH2 domains. Thus, Gp150 defines a new subfamily of LRR proteins and may be involved in signal transduction. Sequence comparison of the two Drosophila gp150 genes demonstrated a high degree of conservation of genome organization downstream of the gp150 gene. Interestingly, D. virilis gp150 coding region appears to have an additional intron, an uncommon feature in homologs of other genes. The expression pattern of gp150 during embryogenesis in D. melanogaster and D. virilis was found to be identical. gp150 transcripts were localized generally to regions where cells are undergoing dramatic morphogenetic movements. This is further corroborated by the localization of gp150 transcripts in eye imaginal discs in the region spanning the morphogenetic furrow.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Exon Recombination
Exon shuffling follows “splice frame rules.” Each exon has three reading...
Conservation of Protein Domains Over Different Proteins
A limited set of protein domains often duplicate and recombine during evolution. These domains can be organized in different combinations to form...
Multi-species Conserved Sequences
Although the genome of each species varies greatly from each other, a few sequences are highly conserved. Such conserved DNA...
Position-effect Variegation
Conserved Binding Sites
Binding sites are often located in large pockets, and if their location on a protein’s surface is unknown, it can be predicted using various approaches. The energetic method computationally analyses the...

