title: DECAY, a novel Drosophila caspase related to mammalian caspase-3 and caspase-7.
abstract: Caspases are key effectors of programmed cell death in metazoans. In Drosophila, four caspases have been described so far. Here we describe the identification and characterization of the fifth Drosophila caspase, DECAY. DECAY shares a high degree of homology with the members of the mammalian caspase-3 subfamily, particularly caspase-3 and caspase-7. DECAY lacks a long prodomain and thus appears to be a class II effector caspase. Ectopic expression of DECAY in cultured cells induces apoptosis. Recombinant DECAY exhibited substrate specificity similar to the mammalian caspase-3 subfamily. Low levels of decay mRNA are ubiquitously expressed in Drosophila embryos during early stages of development but its expression becomes somewhat spatially restricted in some tissues. During oogenesis decay mRNA was detected in egg chambers of all stages consistent with a role for DECAY in apoptosis of nurse cells. Relatively high levels of decay mRNA are expressed in larval salivary glands and midgut, two tissues which undergo histolysis during larval/pupal metamorphosis, suggesting that DECAY may play a role in developmentally programmed cell death in Drosophila.
authors.affiliation: Hanson Centre for Cancer Research, Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science, Frome Road, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dorstyn
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Read
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Quinn
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Richardson
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumar
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D053148:Caspase 3; D053179:Caspase 7; D020169:Caspases / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D004064:Digestive System / Q000201:enzymology; D004330:Drosophila / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D007814:Larva; D008322:Mammals; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D012469:Salivary Glands / Q000201:enzymology; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D053148:Caspase 3; D053179:Caspase 7; D020169:Caspases; C400190:decay protein, Drosophila