Table 1.
Apoptotic and/or immunity-related roles of Drosophila caspases
| Drosophila caspase | GenBank Acc. No. | Apoptotic and, (or anti-viral roles in insects | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apoptosis Initiators | |||
| Death regulator Nedd2-like caspase (DRONC); Caspase-9 homolog | NP_524017.1 | Ecdysone-induced (developmental and stress-induced apoptosis); | [108, 170] |
| Death-related ced-3/Nedd2 (DREDD) or DCP-2; Caspase-8 homolog | NP_477249.3 | Essential for activation of innate immune signaling (activates Relish of the Imd pathway) | [108, 171] |
| Serine/Threonine-rich caspase-A (STRICA) or Downstream regulatory element-antagonist modulator (DREAM) | NP_610193.1 | Together with DRONC, STRICA activates DCP-1 and DRICE | [172] |
| Apoptosis Effectors | |||
| Death associated molecule related to Mch2 (DAMM) | AAF82437.1 | Upregulated in DCV-infected Drosophila | [92] |
| Death caspase protein 1 (DCP-1) | NP_476974.1 | Essential for germ-line apoptosis in mid-oogenesis; cleaves P35 | [172] |
| Death executioner caspase-related to Apopain/Yama (DECAY); Caspase-3, (7 homolog | NP_477462.1 | Involved in developmental apoptosis and immunity; (upregulated in DENV-infected mosquito) | [111, 171, 173] |
| Drosophila interleukin-1β-converting enzyme (DrICE) | NP_524551.2 | Required for baculovirus-induced apoptosis; inhibited by the baculovirus P35/ P49/CrmA | [131] |