Isolation and characterization of a cDNA clone for the Cat2 gene in maize and its homology with other catalases.

A 230-base-pair cDNA representing the 3' end of the Cat2 gene in maize was isolated and used to screen a lambda gt11 cDNA library made from scutellar poly(A)+ RNA. Several clones were subcloned into a pUC12 vector; one of the subclones, pCat2.1c, appears to represent a near-complete sequence of the Cat2 coding region. Immunological screening, hybridization-selection translation, and RNA blot analysis confirmed that pCat2.1c was derived from the Cat2 transcript. The DNA sequence of pCat2.1c was determined. The deduced amino acid sequence shows homology with catalase amino acid sequences from rat liver, bovine liver, human kidney, and yeast.