NWD1, short for NACHT and WD repeat domain containing 1, is a 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...

 found in vertebrate

Vertebrate

Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...

s, which encodes a protein that contains a NACHT domain

NACHT domain

The NACHT domain is an evolutionary conserved protein domain.This NTPase domain is found in apoptosis proteins as well as those involved in MHC transcription....

 and a WD40 repeat

WD40 repeat

The WD40 repeat is a short structural motif of approximately 40 amino acids , often terminating in a tryptophan-aspartic acid dipeptide...

 domain. It was originally identified during a search for immune system

Immune system

An immune system is a system of biological structures and processes within an organism that protects against disease by identifying and killing pathogens and tumor cells. It detects a wide variety of agents, from viruses to parasitic worms, and needs to distinguish them from the organism's own...

 genes in zebrafish as a protein coding sequence related to APAF1

APAF1

Apoptotic protease activating factor 1, also known as APAF1, is a human homolog of C. elegans CED-4 gene. APAF-1 and CED-4 homologs have been found in all currently sequenced animal genomes.-Function:...

; orthologs were subsequently identified in mammalian species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

. The NWD1 gene of humans is located on chromosome 19. The function of the NWD1 protein is currently unknown.