FB2026_02 , released June 18, 2026
Gene: Dmel\eIF2β
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General Information
Symbol
Dmel\eIF2β
Species
D. melanogaster
Name
eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 subunit beta
Annotation Symbol
CG4153
Feature Type
protein_coding_gene
FlyBase ID
FBgn0004926
Gene Model Status
Current
Stock Availability
8 publicly available
Gene Summary
Component of the eIF2 complex that functions in the early steps of protein synthesis by forming a ternary complex with GTP and initiator tRNA. This complex binds to a 40S ribosomal subunit, followed by mRNA binding to form a 43S pre-initiation complex (43S PIC). Junction of the 60S ribosomal subunit to form the 80S initiation complex is preceded by hydrolysis of the GTP bound to eIF2 and release of an eIF2-GDP binary complex. In order for eIF2 to recycle and catalyze another round of initiation, the GDP bound to eIF2 must exchange with GTP by way of a reaction catalyzed by eIF2B. (UniProt, P41375)
Contribute a Gene Snapshot for this gene.
All Summaries
Also Known As

eIF-2beta, eIF-2β, eIF-2, elF2β

Key Links
Genomic Location
Cytogenetic map
69C4-69C4
Sequence location
Recombination map
3-38
RefSeq locus
NT_037436 REGION:12525093..12526731
Sequence
Get Decorated FASTA
Genomic Maps
Other Genome Views
The following external sites may use different assemblies or annotations than FlyBase.
NCBI
UCSC
Ensembl
PopFly
Function
Gene Ontology (GO) Annotations (11 terms)
Molecular Function (3 terms)
Terms Based on Experimental Evidence (0 terms)
Terms Based on Predictions or Assertions (3 terms)
CV Term
Evidence
References
enables mRNA binding
inferred from biological aspect of ancestor with PANTHER:PTN000543461
(GO Reference Genome Project, 2011-)
enables translation initiation factor activity
inferred from biological aspect of ancestor with PANTHER:PTN000543393
(GO Reference Genome Project, 2011-)
inferred from sequence or structural similarity with SGD:S000006158
(Gene Ontology Curators, 2002-)
inferred from sequence or structural similarity
(Lasko, 2000)
(InterPro Project Members, 2004-)
enables translation initiation factor binding
inferred from biological aspect of ancestor with PANTHER:PTN000543461
(GO Reference Genome Project, 2011-)
Biological Process (4 terms)
Terms Based on Experimental Evidence (2 terms)
CV Term
Evidence
References
involved_in axon midline choice point recognition
inferred from mutant phenotype
(Lee et al., 2007)
involved_in response to endoplasmic reticulum stress
inferred from high throughput mutant phenotype
(Chow et al., 2013)
Terms Based on Predictions or Assertions (2 terms)
CV Term
Evidence
References
involved_in formation of translation preinitiation complex
inferred from sequence or structural similarity with SGD:S000006158
(Gene Ontology Curators, 2002-)
inferred from biological aspect of ancestor with PANTHER:PTN000543461
(GO Reference Genome Project, 2011-)
involved_in translational initiation
(InterPro Project Members, 2004-)
Cellular Component (4 terms)
Terms Based on Experimental Evidence (0 terms)
Terms Based on Predictions or Assertions (4 terms)
CV Term
Evidence
References
located_in cytosol
inferred from sequence or structural similarity
(Lasko, 2000)
part_of eukaryotic 43S preinitiation complex
inferred from sequence or structural similarity with SGD:S000006158
(Gene Ontology Curators, 2002-)
part_of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 complex
inferred from sequence or structural similarity
(Lasko, 2000)
inferred from sequence or structural similarity with UniProtKB:P09064
(Gene Ontology Curators, 2002-)
inferred from biological aspect of ancestor with PANTHER:PTN000543461
(GO Reference Genome Project, 2011-)
part_of multi-eIF complex
inferred from sequence or structural similarity with SGD:S000006158
(Gene Ontology Curators, 2002-)
Gene Group (FlyBase)
Protein Family (UniProt)
Belongs to the eIF-2-beta/eIF-5 family. (P41375)
Protein Signatures (InterPro)
Summaries
Gene Group (FlyBase)
CYTOPLASMIC TRANSLATION INITIATION FACTORS -
Cytoplasmic (or eukaryotic) translation initiation factors function in the initiation stage of ribosome-mediated translation in the cytoplasm. (Adapted from FBrf0233552 and PMID:20094052).
Protein Function (UniProtKB)
Component of the eIF2 complex that functions in the early steps of protein synthesis by forming a ternary complex with GTP and initiator tRNA. This complex binds to a 40S ribosomal subunit, followed by mRNA binding to form a 43S pre-initiation complex (43S PIC). Junction of the 60S ribosomal subunit to form the 80S initiation complex is preceded by hydrolysis of the GTP bound to eIF2 and release of an eIF2-GDP binary complex. In order for eIF2 to recycle and catalyze another round of initiation, the GDP bound to eIF2 must exchange with GTP by way of a reaction catalyzed by eIF2B.
(UniProt, P41375)
Gene Model and Products
Number of Transcripts
1
Number of Unique Polypeptides
1

Please see the JBrowse view of Dmel\eIF2β for information on other features

To submit a correction to a gene model please use the Contact FlyBase form

Protein Domains (via Pfam)
Isoform displayed:
Pfam protein domains
InterPro name
classification
start
end
Protein Domains (via SMART)
Isoform displayed:
SMART protein domains
InterPro name
classification
start
end
Structure
Protein 3D structure   (Predicted by AlphaFold)   (AlphaFold entry P41375)

If you don't see a structure in the viewer, refresh your browser.
Model Confidence:
  • Very high (pLDDT > 90)
  • Confident (90 > pLDDT > 70)
  • Low (70 > pLDDT > 50)
  • Very low (pLDDT < 50)

AlphaFold produces a per-residue confidence score (pLDDT) between 0 and 100. Some regions with low pLDDT may be unstructured in isolation.

Experimentally Determined Structures
Crossreferences
Comments on Gene Model

Low-frequency RNA-Seq exon junction(s) not annotated.

Gene model reviewed during 5.45

Gene model reviewed during 5.55

Transcript Data
Annotated Transcripts
Name
FlyBase ID
RefSeq ID
Length (nt)
Assoc. CDS (aa)
eIF2β-RA
FBtr0075968
NM_079319
1128
312
Additional Transcript Data and Comments
Reported size (kB)

1.2 (northern blot)

(Ye and Cavener, 1994)
Comments
External Data
Crossreferences
Polypeptide Data
Annotated Polypeptides
Name
FlyBase ID
Predicted MW (kDa)
Length (aa)
Theoretical pI
UniProt
RefSeq ID
GenBank
eIF2β-PA
FBpp0075700
35.2
312
5.42
P41375
NP_524043
AAF49902
Polypeptides with Identical Sequences

There is only one protein coding transcript and one polypeptide associated with this gene

Additional Polypeptide Data and Comments
Reported size (kDa)

312 (aa)

(Ye and Cavener, 1994)
Comments

The amino acid sequence of Eif2β shows a C2-C2 nucleic acid binding motif in the C-terminal region.

(Ye and Cavener, 1994)
External Data
Subunit Structure (UniProtKB)

Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 eIF2 is a heterotrimeric complex composed of an alpha, a beta and a gamma subunit.

(UniProt, P41375)
Crossreferences
InterPro - A database of protein families, domains and functional sites
Linkouts
Sequences Consistent with the Gene Model
Mapped Features

Click to get a list of regulatory features (enhancers, TFBS, etc.) and gene disruptions (point mutations, indels, etc.) within or overlapping Dmel\eIF2β using the Feature Mapper tool.

External Data
Crossreferences
Eukaryotic Promoter Database - A collection of databases of experimentally validated promoters for selected model organisms.
Linkouts
Expression Data
Testis-specificity index

The testis specificity index was calculated from modENCODE tissue expression data by Vedelek et al., 2018 to indicate the degree of testis enrichment compared to other tissues. Scores range from -2.52 (underrepresented) to 5.2 (very high testis bias).

1.21

Transcript Expression
in situ
Stage
Tissue/Position (including subcellular localization)
Reference
embryonic stage 1 -- 3
organism

Comment: maternally deposited

(Fisher et al., 2012)
embryonic stage 4 -- 6
organism | ubiquitous
(Fisher et al., 2012)
embryonic stage 7 -- 8
organism | ubiquitous
(Fisher et al., 2012)
embryonic stage 9 -- 10
organism | ubiquitous
(Fisher et al., 2012)
embryonic stage 11 -- 12
organism | ubiquitous
(Fisher et al., 2012)
embryonic stage 13 -- 16
organism | ubiquitous
(Fisher et al., 2012)
northern blot
Stage
Tissue/Position (including subcellular localization)
Reference
embryonic stage -- adult stage
(Ye and Cavener, 1994)
Additional Descriptive Data
Marker for
 
Subcellular Localization
CV Term
Polypeptide Expression
mass spectroscopy
Stage
Tissue/Position (including subcellular localization)
Reference
adult stage
adult head
(Aradska et al., 2015)
Additional Descriptive Data
Marker for
 
Subcellular Localization
CV Term
Evidence
References
Expression Deduced from Reporters
High-Throughput Expression Data
Associated Tools

JBrowse - Visual display of RNA-Seq signals

View Dmel\eIF2β in JBrowse
RNA-Seq by Region - Search RNA-Seq expression levels by exon or genomic region
Bulk Downloads
RNA-Seq RPKM values for all genes
Reference
See Gelbart and Emmert, 2013 for analysis details and data files for all genes.
Developmental Proteome: Life Cycle
Developmental Proteome: Embryogenesis
External Data and Images
Linkouts
BDGP expression data - Patterns of gene expression in Drosophila embryogenesis
DRscDB - A single-cell RNA-seq resource for data mining and data comparison across species
EMBL-EBI Single Cell Expression Atlas - Single cell expression across species
FlyAtlas - Adult expression by tissue, using Affymetrix Dros2 array
FlyAtlas2 - A Drosophila melanogaster expression atlas with RNA-Seq, miRNA-Seq and sex-specific data
Fly-FISH - A database of Drosophila embryo and larvae mRNA localization patterns
Flygut - An atlas of the Drosophila adult midgut
Images
FlyBase Wiki
Image Based Resources
Alleles, Insertions, Transgenic Constructs, and Aberrations
Classical and Insertion Alleles ( 10 )
For All Classical and Insertion Alleles Show
 
Other relevant insertions
Transgenic Constructs ( 6 )
For All Alleles Carried on Transgenic Constructs Show
Transgenic constructs containing/affecting coding region of eIF2β
Transgenic constructs containing regulatory region of eIF2β
Aberrations (Deficiencies and Duplications) ( 2 )
Inferred from experimentation ( 2 )
Gene disrupted in
Df(3L)ED4483
(Marygold et al., 2007)
Df(3L)ED4486
(Marygold et al., 2007)
Inferred from location ( 6 )
Variants
Variant Molecular Consequences
Alleles Representing Disease-Implicated Variants
Phenotypes
Orthologs
Downloads
Download All DIOPT Orthologs
Human Orthologs (via DIOPT v9.1)
Species\Gene Symbol
Score
Best Score
Best Reverse Score
Source
Compara
Domainoid
eggNOG
Hieranoid
Homologene
Inparanoid
OMA
OrthoDB
OrthoFinder
OrthoInspector
orthoMCL
Panther
Phylome
SonicParanoid
Alignment
Complementation?
Transgene?
Homo sapiens (Human) (2)
Hsap\EIF2S2
14 of 14
Yes
Yes
Hsap\EIF5
2 of 14
No
No
Model Organism Orthologs (via DIOPT v9.1)
Species\Gene Symbol
Score
Best Score
Best Reverse Score
Source
Compara
Domainoid
eggNOG
Hieranoid
Homologene
Inparanoid
OMA
OrthoDB
OrthoFinder
OrthoInspector
orthoMCL
Panther
Phylome
SonicParanoid
Alignment
Complementation?
Transgene?
Rattus norvegicus (Norway rat) (3)
Rnor\Eif2s2
14 of 14
Yes
Yes
Rnor\Eif5
2 of 14
No
No
Rnor\Eif5
1 of 14
No
No
Mus musculus (laboratory mouse) (2)
Mmus\Eif2s2
13 of 14
Yes
Yes
Mmus\Eif5
2 of 14
No
No
Xenopus tropicalis (Western clawed frog) (3)
Xtro\eif2s2
9 of 13
Yes
Yes
Xtro\eif5
1 of 13
No
No
Xtro\ube2d4
1 of 13
No
No
Danio rerio (Zebrafish) (2)
Drer\eif2s2
14 of 14
Yes
Yes
Drer\eif5
2 of 14
No
No
Caenorhabditis elegans (Nematode, roundworm) (2)
Cele\eif-2beta
12 of 14
Yes
Yes
Cele\C37C3.2
1 of 14
No
No
Anopheles gambiae (African malaria mosquito) (2)
Agam\AgaP_AGAP007218
12 of 12
Yes
Yes
Agam\AgaP_AGAP011203
2 of 12
No
No
Arabidopsis thaliana (thale-cress) (5)
Atha\EIF2 BETA
11 of 13
Yes
Yes
Atha\AT3G07920
5 of 13
No
Yes
Atha\AT5G01940
5 of 13
No
Yes
Atha\AT1G36730
2 of 13
No
No
Atha\AT1G77840
2 of 13
No
No
Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Brewer's yeast) (2)
Scer\SUI3
12 of 13
Yes
Yes
Scer\TIF5
2 of 13
No
No
Schizosaccharomyces pombe (Fission yeast) (2)
Spom\tif212
11 of 12
Yes
Yes
Spom\SPAC2F7.05c
2 of 12
No
No
Escherichia coli (enterobacterium) (0)
Other Organism Orthologs (via OrthoDB)
Data provided directly from OrthoDB:eIF2β. Refer to their site for version information.
Paralogs
Downloads
Download All DIOPT Paralogs
Paralogs (via DIOPT v9.1)
Gene Symbol
Score
Source
Compara
Domainoid
eggNOG
Homologene
Inparanoid
OMA
OrthoDB
OrthoFinder
OrthoInspector
orthoMCL
Panther
Phylome
SonicParanoid
Alignment
Drosophila melanogaster (Fruit fly) (1)
eIF5
3 of 13
Human Disease Associations
FlyBase Human Disease Model Reports
    Disease Ontology (DO) Annotations
    Models Based on Experimental Evidence ( 0 )
    Allele
    Disease
    Evidence
    References
    Potential Models Based on Orthology ( 0 )
    Human Ortholog
    Disease
    Evidence
    References
    Modifiers Based on Experimental Evidence ( 1 )
    Disease Associations of Human Orthologs (via DIOPT v9.1 and OMIM)
    Note that ortholog calls supported by only 1 or 2 algorithms (DIOPT score < 3) are not shown.
    Homo sapiens (Human)
    Gene name
    Score
    OMIM
    OMIM Phenotype
    DO term
    Complementation?
    Transgene?
    EIF2S2; eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 subunit beta
    14 of 14
    603908
        Functional Complementation Data
        Functional complementation data is computed by FlyBase using a combination of the orthology data obtained from DIOPT and OrthoDB and the allele-level genetic interaction data curated from the literature.
        Interactions
        Summary of Physical Interactions
        Summary of Genetic Interactions
        Interaction Browsers
        View in FlyBase Interactions Browser   View in MIST tool (external link)
        Please look at the allele data for full details of the genetic interactions
        Starting gene(s)
        Interaction type
        Interacting gene(s)
        Reference
        Starting gene(s)
        Interaction type
        Interacting gene(s)
        Reference
        milt
        suppressible
        eIF2β
        (Shinno et al., 2026)
        External Data
        Subunit Structure (UniProtKB)
        Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 eIF2 is a heterotrimeric complex composed of an alpha, a beta and a gamma subunit.
        (UniProt, P41375 )
        Linkouts
        BioGRID - A database of protein and genetic interactions.
        DroID - A comprehensive database of gene and protein interactions.
        MIST (protein-protein) - An integrated Molecular Interaction Database
        Pathways
        Class of Gene
        Genomic Location and Detailed Mapping Data
        Chromosome (arm)
        3L
        Recombination map
        3-38
        Cytogenetic map
        69C4-69C4
        Sequence location
        FlyBase Computed Cytological Location
        Cytogenetic map
        Evidence for location
        69C4-69C4
        Limits computationally determined from genome sequence between P{PZ}l(3)0508805088 and P{PZ}l(3)0692406924
        Experimentally Determined Cytological Location
        Cytogenetic map
        Notes
        References
        Experimentally Determined Recombination Data
        Location

        3-38

        (FlyBase, 2016)

        3-32.6

        (Comeron et al., 2012)
        Left of (cM)
        Right of (cM)
        Notes
        Stocks and Reagents
        Stocks (8)
        Genomic Clones (12)
         

        Please Note FlyBase no longer curates genomic clone accessions so this list may not be complete

        cDNA Clones (62)
         

        Please Note This section lists cDNAs and ESTs that fall within the genomic extent of the gene model, which may include cDNAs and ESTs of genes within introns, or of overlapping genes. Please see JBrowse for alignment of the cDNAs and ESTs to the gene model.

        cDNA clones, fully sequenced
        BDGP DGC clones
        Other clones
          Drosophila Genomics Resource Center cDNA clones

          For each fully sequenced cDNA the DGRC maintains various forms of the cDNA (e.g tagged or untagged) in several different host vectors for subsequent cloning and expression in Drosophila and Drosophila cell lines.

          cDNA Clones, End Sequenced (ESTs)
          BDGP DGC clones
          Other clones
          RNAi and Array Information
          Linkouts
          DRSC - Results frm RNAi screens
          Antibody Information
          Laboratory Generated Antibodies
           

          polyclonal

          (Shinno et al., 2026, Lee et al., 2007)
          Commercially Available Antibodies
           
          Cell Line Information
          Publicly Available Cell Lines
           
            Other Stable Cell Lines
             
              Other Comments

              RNAi screen using dsRNA made from templates generated with primers directed against this gene results in aberrantly short, monopolar spindles when assayed in S2 cells. This phenotype can be observed when the screen is performed with or without Cdc27 dsRNA.

              (Goshima et al., 2007)

              Not haploinsufficient.

              (Marygold et al., 2007)

              dsRNA made from templates generated with primers directed against eIF-2β that is transfected into S2 treated with Listeria monocytogenes reveals eIF-2β to be involved in Listeria monocytogenes vacuolar escape.

              (Cheng et al., 2005)

              eIF-2β has been isolated and characterised.

              (Ye and Cavener, 1994)

              eIF-2β nucleotide sequence displays a high degree of similarity with the human and yeast homologs. eIF-2β mRNA displays quasi-constitutive expression.

              (Ye et al., 1992)

              eIF-2β mRNA displays quasi-constitutive expression.

              Relationship to Other Genes
              Source for database merge of
              Additional comments
              Nomenclature History
              Source for database identify of

              Source for identity of: eIF2β eIF-2β

              (Marygold et al., 2017)
              Nomenclature comments
              Etymology
              Synonyms and Secondary IDs (14)
              Datasets (0)
              Study focus (0)
              Experimental Role
              Project
              Project Type
              Title
              Study result (0)
              Result
              Result Type
              Title
              External Crossreferences and Linkouts ( 48 )
              Sequence Crossreferences
              NCBI Gene - Gene integrates information from a wide range of species. A record may include nomenclature, Reference Sequences (RefSeqs), maps, pathways, variations, phenotypes, and links to genome-, phenotype-, and locus-specific resources worldwide.
              GenBank Nucleotide - A collection of sequences from several sources, including GenBank, RefSeq, TPA, and PDB.
              GenBank Protein - A collection of sequences from several sources, including translations from annotated coding regions in GenBank, RefSeq and TPA, as well as records from SwissProt, PIR, PRF, and PDB.
              RefSeq - A comprehensive, integrated, non-redundant, well-annotated set of reference sequences including genomic, transcript, and protein.
              UniProt/GCRP - The gene-centric reference proteome (GCRP) provides a 1:1 mapping between genes and UniProt accessions in which a single 'canonical' isoform represents the product(s) of each protein-coding gene.
              UniProt/Swiss-Prot - Manually annotated and reviewed records of protein sequence and functional information
              Other crossreferences
              AlphaFold DB - AlphaFold provides open access to protein structure predictions for the human proteome and other key proteins of interest, to accelerate scientific research.
              BDGP expression data - Patterns of gene expression in Drosophila embryogenesis
              DRscDB - A single-cell RNA-seq resource for data mining and data comparison across species
              EMBL-EBI Single Cell Expression Atlas - Single cell expression across species
              FlyAtlas2 - A Drosophila melanogaster expression atlas with RNA-Seq, miRNA-Seq and sex-specific data
              FlyMine - An integrated database for Drosophila genomics
              InterPro - A database of protein families, domains and functional sites
              KEGG Genes - Molecular building blocks of life in the genomic space.
              MARRVEL_MODEL - MARRVEL (model organism gene)
              Linkouts
              BioGRID - A database of protein and genetic interactions.
              Drosophila Genomics Resource Center - Drosophila Genomics Resource Center (DGRC) cDNA clones
              DroID - A comprehensive database of gene and protein interactions.
              DRSC - Results frm RNAi screens
              Eukaryotic Promoter Database - A collection of databases of experimentally validated promoters for selected model organisms.
              FlyAtlas - Adult expression by tissue, using Affymetrix Dros2 array
              FlyCyc Genes - Genes from a BioCyc PGDB for Dmel
              Fly-FISH - A database of Drosophila embryo and larvae mRNA localization patterns
              Flygut - An atlas of the Drosophila adult midgut
              FlyMet - A comprehensive tissue-specific metabolomics resource for Drosophila.
              iBeetle-Base - RNAi phenotypes in the red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum)
              MIST (protein-protein) - An integrated Molecular Interaction Database
              Reactome - An open-source, open access, manually curated and peer-reviewed pathway database.
              References (63)