Medea is a gene from the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster that was one of the first two Smad

SMAD

SMAD may refer to:* Sowjetische Militäradministration in Deutschland* SMAD – proteins involved in cell signaling** R-SMAD – receptor regulated SMAD proteins** I-SMAD – inhibitory SMAD proteins...

 genes discovered. For both genes, the maternal effect lethality was the basis for selection of their names. Medea was named for the mythological Greek Medea

Medea

Medea is a woman in Greek mythology. She was the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, niece of Circe, granddaughter of the sun god Helios, and later wife to the hero Jason, with whom she had two children, Mermeros and Pheres. In Euripides's play Medea, Jason leaves Medea when Creon, king of...

, who killed her progeny fathered by Jason

Jason

Jason was a late ancient Greek mythological hero from the late 10th Century BC, famous as the leader of the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcus...

.

Both Medea and Mothers against dpp were identified in a genetic screen for maternal effect mutations that caused lethality of heterozygous Decapentaplegic

Decapentaplegic

Decapentaplegic is a key morphogen involved in the development of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. It is known to be necessary for the correct patterning of the fifteen imaginal discs, which are tissues that will become limbs and other organs and structures in the adult fly. It has also been...

 progeny. Because Decapentaplegic

Decapentaplegic

Decapentaplegic is a key morphogen involved in the development of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. It is known to be necessary for the correct patterning of the fifteen imaginal discs, which are tissues that will become limbs and other organs and structures in the adult fly. It has also been...

 is a Bone morphogenetic protein

Bone morphogenetic protein

Bone morphogenetic proteins are a group of growth factors also known as cytokines and as metabologens . Originally discovered by their ability to induce the formation of bone and cartilage, BMPs are now considered to constitute a group of pivotal morphogenetic signals, orchestrating tissue...

 in the Transforming growth factor beta superfamily

Transforming growth factor beta superfamily

The transforming growth factor beta superfamily is a large family of structurally related cell regulatory proteins that was named after its first member, TGF-β1, originally described in 1983....

, identification of the fly Smad genes provided a much needed clue to understand the signal transduction

Signal transduction

Signal transduction occurs when an extracellular signaling molecule activates a cell surface receptor. In turn, this receptor alters intracellular molecules creating a response...

 pathway for this diverse family of extracellular proteins. Humans, mice, and other vertebrates have a gene with the same function as Medea, called SMAD4. An overview of the biology of Medea is found at The Interactive Fly http://www.sdbonline.org/fly/torstoll/medea1.htm, and the details of Medea genetics and molecular biology are curated on Flybase http://flybase.org/reports/FBgn0011655.html.

Another laboratory used Medea as an acronym to describe a synthetic gene causing Maternal effect dominant embryonic arrest

Maternal effect dominant embryonic arrest

Maternal effect dominant embryonic arrest is a selfish gene composed of a toxin and an antidote. A mother carrying Medea will express the toxin in her germline, killing her progeny. If the children also carry Medea, they produce copies of the antidote, saving their lives...

. The formal genetic designation for Maternal effect dominant embryonic arrest is P{Medea.myd88}, more details are in Flybase http://flybase.org/reports/FBtp0023218.html