The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae RAD52 gene is involved in DNA double-strand break repair and mitotic/meiotic recombination. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of yeast S. cerevisiae, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, and Kluyveromyces lactis and chicken is highly conserved. Using the technology of mixed oligonucleotide primed amplification of cDNA (MOPAC), two mouse RAD52 homologous cDNA fragments were amplified and sequenced. Subsequently, we have cloned the cDNA of the human and mouse homologs of yeast RAD52 gene by screening cDNA libraries using the identified mouse cDNA fragments. Sequence analysis of cDNA derived amino acid revealed a highly conserved N-terminus among human, mouse, chicken, and yeast RAD52 genes. The human RAD52 gene was assigned to chromosome 12p12.2-p13 by fluorescence in situ hybridization, R-banding, and DNA analysis of somatic cell hybrids. Unlike chicken RAD52 and mouse RAD51, no significant difference in mouse RAD52 mRNA level was found among mouse heart, brain, spleen, lung, liver, skeletal muscle, kidney, and testis. In addition to an approximately 1.9-kb RAD52 mRNA band that is present in all of the tested tissues, an extra mRNA species of approximately 0.85 kb was detectable in mouse testis.