wht is a cat gene?

Answer 1

CAT is a reporter gene often used to examine gene promoter activity. Basically you clone the CAT gene downstream of putative promoter (or enhancer) element. The reporter construct is transfected into cells (or the mouse) and determine the transcriptional activity.

Answer 2

The CAT gene in humans is the gene which encodes the enzyme catalase.

Catalase is an enzyme which breaks down the toxic hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen.

Edit:
CAT - as the answer above suggests - is also used for the bacterial gene CAT, which doesn't encode catalase, but Chloramphenicol Acetyltransferase which is a resistance gene to the antibiotic chloramphenicol. It is used in bacterial gene cloning experiments and as a reporter gene for eukaryotic gene transcription studies.

Which answer you need depends on the context.

Answer 3

a cat gene is a reporter gene often used to examine gene promoter activity.

In molecular biology, a reporter gene (often simply reporter) is a gene that researchers attach to another gene of interest in cell culture, animals or plants. Certain genes are chosen as reporters because the characteristics they confer on organisms expressing them are easily identified and measured, or because they are selectable markers. Reporter genes are generally used to determine whether the gene of interest has been taken up by or expressed in the cell or organism population.

Answer 4

The cat gene is carried by a few individuals and is hereditary and can skip several generations, but, once in a blue moon, a carrier will start to take on cat-like traits, such as chasing mice, sleeping on television sets and the obsession with balls of yarn. They may also lick themselves, get agitated in the presence of a dog, and climb up trees to find themselves unable to get back down, in which this case the fire department will have to come and get them down themselves. This strange phenomenon is sometimes known as "feline syndrome".

Answer 5

Catalase is an antioxidant that protects cells from hydrogen peroxide. Some experiments in invertebrates suggest a role for CAT in ageing. Studies done involving short-lived invertabrates have been positive. Although it has been argued that CAT plays a role in ageing, there is no direct evidence linking CAT to human ageing.