ALDH4A1 is missing from chimpanzee and common marmoset but is present in all others. Previously, rat ALDH4A1 had been conspicuously absent from the major databanks but it was recently added. During a BLAST search of the rat genome using various individual exon segments from mouse Aldh4a1, significant hits for Aldh4a1 in the rat genome were identified on Chr 5q36 and it was determined to be a part of the fusion gene LRRP Ba1-651 [26]. Figure 2 shows an assembled structure of this fusion gene with the Aldh4a1 exons highlighted in red. Although it appears that these exons are transcribed and contain the conserved ALDH catalytic domain, it is not clear whether the gene product retains aldehyde dehydrogenase activity.
