Multiple Functions of the Eya Phosphotyrosine Phosphatase

Abstract

Eyes absent (Eya), a protein conserved from plants to humans, and best characterized as a transcriptional coactivator, is also the prototype for a novel class of eukaryotic aspartyl protein tyrosine phosphatases. This minireview discusses recent breakthroughs in elucidating the substrates and cellular events regulated by Eya's tyrosine phosphatase function, and highlights some of the complexities, new questions and surprises that have emerged from efforts to understand how Eya's unusual multifunctionality influences developmental regulation and signaling.