The nuclear:organelle distribution of chloroplast ribosomal proteins genes. Features of a cDNA clone encoding the cytoplasmic precursor of L11.

The majority of chloroplast ribosomal proteins are encoded in the nuclear genome. In order to characterize these proteins through their mRNA, we have previously constructed a spinach cDNA expression library and raised antisera to several spinach chloroplast ribosomal proteins. Here we describe the immuno isolation of cDNA clones encoding protein L11 and its chloroplast-targeting presequence. The cytoplasmic precursor form of L11 is 224 amino acid residues long (Mr 23,662); the mature L11 and the transit sequence are predicted to be of approximately 159 and approximately 65 residues, respectively. The predicted chloroplast L11 is significantly longer than the E coli L11, but similar (in size) to archaebacterial and yeast cytoplasmic L11. In sequence it is closer to E coli L11 (54% identity) than to the archaebacterial (32%) or yeast (23%) proteins. These results and the conservation of the contexts of the 3 methyl modified residues found in E coli L11 are discussed in the light of the endosymbiont theory and nuclear relocation of the rp/KAJL gene cluster.