Isolation and characterization of a novel cytochrome P-450-like pseudogene

A rabbit liver P-450-like pseudogene has been isolated from a lambda phage genomic library. Sequence analysis revealed structural homology with respect to the rat P-450b and P-450e genes as well as a similar intron-exon organization. A 5'-proximal TATA box-like sequence and two 3'-distal putative polyadenylation signals were identified, and all putative intron-exon boundaries except at the 3'-splice site of intron 2 were found to follow the GT/AG rule. With allowance for apparent deletions and insertions, the structural homology of the amino acid sequence deduced from the pseudogene with respect to rabbit P-450 isozyme 2 is lower for exons 1 through 4 (18-28%) than for exons 5 through 9 (42-65%). S1 nuclease mapping showed that mRNAs complementary to the DNA sequence of exon 9 are expressed. However, due to the alterations in the pseudogene, it appears that functional P-450 would not be produced from such mRNAs.