Likely to act as a downstream effector of Cdc42 during dorsal closure, acting in a kinase independent manner with the other ACK family member Ack to positively regulate expression of the myosin zip by promoting the endocytosis of Egfr in the amnioserosa (AS). ATP + L-tyrosyl-[protein] = ADP + H(+) + O-phospho-L-tyrosyl-[protein] RNAi-mediated knockdown results in a low frequency of dorsal defects in the developing embryo (PubMed:18816840). RNAi-mediated knockdown does not rescue the small eye phenotypes induced by hid and rpr overexpression (PubMed:22615583). Simultaneous knockdown of Ack and Ack-like results in many embryos failing to properly secrete the cuticle likely due to the loss of zip expression (PubMed:18816840). Mutants also display defects in the dorsal surface including holes in the cuticle and germband retraction failure (PubMed:18816840). Belongs to the protein kinase superfamily. Tyr protein kinase family.