NUCLEOTIDE-SEQUENCE OF A CDNA FOR MOUSE SQUALENE EPOXIDASE

A full-length cDNA encoding mouse squalene epoxidase was isolated by s creening a mouse liver cDNA library with the rat squalene epoxidase ge ne as a probe. The cDNA had an open reading frame for a 572 amino acid polypeptide with a calculated molecular mass of 63.8 kDa. The predict ed amino acid sequence of the mouse enzyme contained an FAD-binding mo tif, and was 93% identical to that of the rat enzyme. The former is on e amino acid shorter than the latter. Blotting analyses showed that th e mRNA is 2.8 kb in size and that a single copy of the gene is present in the mouse genome.