Notum Pectinacetylesterase Homolog (NOTUM)

Giraldez et al. (2002) cloned Drosophila Notum and identified homologs in several species, including mouse and human. Notum has a highly conserved 325-amino acid region that includes an active-site motif (GxSxG), termed a """nucleophile elbow,""" that is part of the ser-asp-his catalytic triad characteristic of hydrolases.Giraldez et al. (2002) demonstrated that Drosophila Notum is a secreted enzyme that can shape the extracellular wingless gradient by modifying cell surface heparin sulfate proteoglycans.Hartz (2006) mapped the NOTUM gene to chromosome 17q25.3 based on an alignment of the NOTUM sequence with the genomic sequence (build 35).