The tiny Hairless protein from Apis mellifera: a potent antagonist of Notch signaling in Drosophila melanogaster.

Background: The Notch signaling pathway is fundamental to the regulation of many cell fate decisions in eumetazoans. Not surprisingly, members of this pathway are highly conserved even between vertebrates and invertebrates. There is one notable exception, Hairless, which acts as a general Notch antagonist in Drosophila.