The highly conserved defender against the death 1 (DAD1) gene maps to human chromosome 14q11-q12 and mouse chromosome 14 and has plant and nematode homologs.

We have cloned the cDNA encoding the mouse DAD1 (defender against apoptotic cell death) protein. While showing an expected high homology with the previously cloned human and Xenopus DAD1-encoding cDNAs, this sequence has striking homology to partial cDNA sequences reported from O. sativa (rice) and C. elegans (nematode), suggesting the existence of plant and invertebrate homologs of this highly conserved gene. The human and mouse DAD1 genes map to chromosome 14q11-q12 and chromosome 14, respectively. This mapping data supports and extends the previously reported similarities between human chromosome 14q and mouse chromosome 14.