Cloning and analysis of a defender against apoptotic cell death (DAD1) homologue from tomato

A cDNA clone homologous to the human defender against apoptotic cell death (DAD I) gene, which is believed to be a conserved inhibitor of programmed cell death, was isolated from tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum cv. Prisca). The 351 basepairs open reading frame predicted a 116 amino acid protein sequence (LeDAD1) that showed high homology to other DAD1 proteins. Northern analysis revealed that LeDAD1 was constitutively expressed during ripening of wildtype, rin, and Nr tomato fruit.