Expression of the rpl23, rpl2 and rps19 genes in spinach chloroplasts

Abstract

The expression of the spinach rpl23, rpl2 and rps19 chloroplast genes has been studied. The rpl23 gene identified in tobacco and Marchantia, is split into two overlapping reading frames in spinach. S1 mapping has shown that initiation sites could occur upstream of each reading frames. A large transcription unit is also present covering the rpl2 and rps19 genes. The rps19 and rpl2 gene products are identified by NH2-terminal amino acid sequences. They correspond to spinach chloroplast ribosomal proteins CS-S23 and CS-L4, respectively. No product of the rpl23 gene was detected in the chloroplast 50S ribosomal subunit. This strongly suggest that a corresponding gene has been transfered into the nucleus.