Gastrulation defective is a serine protease involved in activating the receptor Toll to polarize the Drosophila embryo

The dorsoventral axis of the Drosophila embryo is induced by a ventrally re stricted ligand for the receptor Toll, The Toll ligand is generated by a pr oteolytic processing reaction, which occurs at the end of a proteolytic cas cade and requires the gastrulation defective (gd), nudel, pipe, and windbeu tel genes, Here we demonstrate that the GD protein is a serine protease and that the three other genes act to restrict GD activity to the ventral side of the embryo. Our data support a model in which the GD protease catalyzes the ventral activation of the proteolytic cascade that produces the Toll l igand.