A cDNA clone of rice major allergenic protein (RAP) was isolated from a cDNA library of maturing rice seeds. The cDNA had an open reading frame (486 nucleotides) which coded a 162 amino acid residue polypeptide comprising a 27-residue signal peptide and a 135-residue mature protein of Mr 14,764. The deduced amino acid sequence of RAP showed a considerable similarity to barley trypsin inhibitor [1983, J. Biol. Chem. 258, 7998–8003] and wheat α-amylase inhibitor [1981, Phytochemistry 20, 1781–1784].
