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Updated: Aug 15, 2026

In Vivo Functional Study of Disease-associated Rare Human Variants Using Drosophila
Published on: August 20, 2019
A Drosophila gene encoding a protein resembling the human beta-amyloid protein precursor
D R Rosen1, L Martin-Morris, L Q Luo
1Department of Biology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02254.
Abstract:
We have isolated genomic and cDNA clones for a Drosophila gene resembling the human beta-amyloid precursor protein (APP). This gene produces a nervous system-enriched 6.5-kilobase transcript. Sequencing of cDNAs derived from the 6.5-kilobase transcript predicts an 886-amino acid polypeptide. This polypeptide contains a putative transmembrane domain and exhibits strong sequence similarity to cytoplasmic and extracellular regions of the human beta-amyloid precursor protein. There is a high probability that this Drosophila gene corresponds to the essential Drosophila locus vnd, a gene required for embryonic nervous system development.
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