Maize mitochondrial DNA contains a sequence homologous to the ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase large subunit gene of chloroplast DNA.

The mitochondrial genome of maize contains a DNA sequence homologous to the chloroplast gene coding for the large subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (LS gene). The presence in mitochondrial DNA of both coding and flanking sequences of this gene has been demonstrated first, by cross hybridization between the purified organelle DNAs and between cloned mitochondrial and chloroplast DNA sequences and second, by in vitro transcription-translation of cloned mitochondrial DNA in an E. coli cell free system where a 21,000 dalton polypeptide is synthesized that can be precipitated with antibodies to wheat ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase. In contrast to the 12 kb chloroplast homologous sequence found in the mitochondrial genome (Stern and Lonsdale, 1982), the sequence homologous to the LS gene is unaltered in mitochondrial DNA isolated from the male sterile cytoplasms of maize. The LS gene homologous sequence in the mitochondrial genome is located some 65 kb from the 18S mitochondrial rRNA gene and approximately 20 kb from the mitochondrial DNA sequence having homology to the chloroplast 16S rRNA gene.