Molecular cloning and nucleotide sequences of bovine hepato-ferredoxin cDNA; identical primary structures of hepato- and adreno-ferredoxins.

1. The ferredoxin from bovine liver mitochondria, so-called hepatoredoxin, was purified and characterized as to its molecular weight, optical absorption spectrum and amino acid composition. 2. These properties were found to be very similar to those of adreno-ferredoxin. 3. To clarify the molecular basis of tissue specificity, the ferredoxin clones were obtained from a bovine liver library and the cDNA sequence of hepato-ferredoxin was determined. 4. The nucleotide sequence of hepato-ferredoxin clone was found to be identical to that of adreno-ferredoxin clone except for a single nucleotide in the 3' non-translated region. 5. Identical amino acid sequence of the two ferredoxins was confirmed by determining the partial amino acid sequence of the purified hepato-ferredoxin. 6. The results indicated that the organ specific activity of purified ferredoxin could not be explained by the different primary structure nor different RNA processing. 7. Other factors may be involved in the tissue specific properties of ferredoxins.