Cloning and characterization of the mouse short-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase cDNA.

Short-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (SCAD) is one of five homologous dehydrogenases that catalyze the first reaction in the beta-oxidation of fatty acids. As the name implies, the substrate for this enzyme is short-chain acyl-CoA (C4-C6). We report here the coding and 3'UT sequence of the cDNA for mouse precursor SCAD. The mouse SCAD cDNA coding sequence covers 1239 bp. This represents a 24-amino-acid leader peptide and a 388-amino-acid mature peptide. Comparison of this sequence with reported rat and human SCAD cDNA sequences reveals a high degree of homology among the three species. Comparison of the amino acid sequence with that of other acyl-CoA dehydrogenases, medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase and long-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase, also shows a high degree of homology.