MBE Advance Access originally published online on June 23, 2008
Molecular Biology and Evolution 2008 25(9):1791-1793; doi:10.1093/molbev/msn139
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Letter |
Presence of a Latent Mitochondrial Targeting Signal in Gene on Mitochondrial Genome
* Genetic Diversity Department, National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
E-mail: kadowaki{at}affrc.go.jp.
Accepted for publication June 16, 2008.
Organelles, such as mitochondria and chloroplasts, are derived from endosymbionts. Gene transfer events from organelles to the nucleus have occurred over evolutionary time. In the case that a transferred gene in the nucleus needs to go back to the original organelle, it must obtain targeting information for sorting its protein to that organelle. Here, we reveal that the genes for the ribosomal proteins L2 and S4 in the Arabidopsis thaliana mitochondrial (mt) genome contain information for protein targeting into the mitochondria. Similarly, the genes for the ribosomal proteins L2 and S19 in the Oryza sativa mt genome contain information for protein targeting into mitochondria. These results suggest that targeting information already existed in each gene in the plant mt genome before the transfer event to the nucleus occurred. We provide new insights into the timing of the appearance of targeting signals in evolution.
Key Words: targeting signal • gene transfer • mitochondria • ribosomal protein genes
1 Present address: The ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
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