sad-1 encodes a novel serine/threonine protein kinase; SAD-1 activity is required for several aspects of presynaptic development, including termination of axon outgrowth and presynaptic vesicle clustering, in GABAergic motor neurons and the ASI amphid chemosensory neuron; in addition, SAD-1 functions in a complex with STRD-1, with which it physically interacts in vivo, to regulate axonal-dendritic polarity and synapse organization; SAD-1 is expressed in the nervous system, where it localizes asymmetrically to the synapse-rich regions of axons; SAD-1 localization to synapses depends upon STRD-1; SAD-1 exhibits kinase activity in vitro, phosphorylating recombinant human Tau.
Enables protein kinase activity. Involved in cellular component organization; cellular localization; and establishment or maintenance of cell polarity. Located in axon and dendrite. Expressed in nervous system. Is an ortholog of human BRSK1 (BR serine/threonine kinase 1) and BRSK2 (BR serine/threonine kinase 2).