Unc-51-like kinase 2 also known as ULK2 is an enzyme

Enzyme

Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...

 which in humans is encoded by the ULK2 gene

Gene

A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...

. The gene is located within the Smith-Magenis syndrome

Smith-Magenis syndrome

Smith–Magenis Syndrome is a developmental disorder that affects many parts of the body. The major features of this condition include mild to moderate mental retardation, distinctive facial features, sleep disturbances, and behavioral problems...

 region on chromosome 17.

Structure and function

This gene encodes a protein that is similar to a serine/threonine kinase

Serine/threonine-specific protein kinase

Serine/threonine protein kinases phosphorylate the OH group of serine or threonine .At least 125 of the 500+ human protein kinases are serine/threonine kinases .-Regulation:...

 in C. elegans

Caenorhabditis elegans

Caenorhabditis elegans is a free-living, transparent nematode , about 1 mm in length, which lives in temperate soil environments. Research into the molecular and developmental biology of C. elegans was begun in 1974 by Sydney Brenner and it has since been used extensively as a model...

which is involved in axon

Axon

An axon is a long, slender projection of a nerve cell, or neuron, that conducts electrical impulses away from the neuron's cell body or soma....

al elongation. The structure of this protein is similar to the C. elegans protein in that both proteins have an N-terminal kinase domain, a central proline

Proline

Proline is an α-amino acid, one of the twenty DNA-encoded amino acids. Its codons are CCU, CCC, CCA, and CCG. It is not an essential amino acid, which means that the human body can synthesize it. It is unique among the 20 protein-forming amino acids in that the α-amino group is secondary...

/serine

Serine

Serine is an amino acid with the formula HO2CCHCH2OH. It is one of the proteinogenic amino acids. By virtue of the hydroxyl group, serine is classified as a polar amino acid.-Occurrence and biosynthesis:...

 rich (PS) domain, and a C-terminal (C) domain. ULK2 and the GTPase

GTPase

GTPases are a large family of hydrolase enzymes that can bind and hydrolyze guanosine triphosphate . The GTP binding and hydrolysis takes place in the highly conserved G domain common to all GTPases.-Functions:...

 activating protein SynGAP

SYNGAP1

Synaptic Ras GTPase activating protein 1 homolog , also known as SYNGAP1, is a protein which in humans is encoded by the SYNGAP1 gene. SYNGAP1 is a ras GTPase-activating protein that is critical for cognition and synapse function. Mutations in humans cause mental retardation.- Function :Unc51.1 and...

 function cooperatively in axon

Axon

An axon is a long, slender projection of a nerve cell, or neuron, that conducts electrical impulses away from the neuron's cell body or soma....

formation.