Nucleotide sequences of chloroplast 5S ribosomal ribonucleic acid in flowering plants.

Evidence for the sequence of duckweed (Lemna minor) chloroplast 5S rRNA was derived from the analysis of partial and complete enzymic digests of the 32P-labelled molecule. The possible sequence of the chloroplast 5S rRNA from three other flowering plants was deduced by complete digestion with T1 ribonuclease and comparison of the sequences of the oligonucleotide products with homologous sequences in the duckweed 5S rRNA. This analysis indicates that the chloroplast 5S rNA species differ appreciably from their cytosol counterparts but bear a strong resemblance to one another and to the 5S rRNA species of prokaryotes. Structural features apparently common to all 5S rRNA molecules are also discussed.