Nitrilase 1 (NIT1)

Bacterial and plant nitrilases are enzymes that cleave nitriles and organic amides to the corresponding carboxylic acids plus ammonia. NIT1 gene is expressed as alternatively spliced transcripts. The major NIT1 transcript encodes a deduced 327-amino acid protein that shares 90% amino acid sequence identity with mouse Nit1, 58% identity with the nitrilase domain of C. elegans NitFhit, and 53% identity with the nitrilase domain of Drosophila NitFhit. The NIT1 gene spans approximately 3.2 kb and contains 7 exons. Northern blot analysis detected NIT1 transcripts of approximately 1.4 and 2.4 kb in all adult tissues examined, namely heart, brain, lung, liver, pancreas, kidney, skeletal muscle, and placenta. An approximately 1.2-kb NIT1 transcript was found in skeletal muscle and heart.