Abstract
We report the sequence of a 7.2 kilobase pair DNA fragment containing a copy of the wheat mitochondrial gene (rrn26) that encodes the mitochondrial large-subunit ribosomal RNA (26S rRNA). The mature 26S rRNA was determined by direct RNA sequencing to be 3467 nucleotides long, and to share a 5′-terminal pentanucleotide (5′-AUCAU), thought to be important in post-transcriptional processing, with the wheat mitochondrial small-subunit (18S) rRNA. Two other prominent features of the sequence were noted. First, upstream of rrn26 are located two tandem copies of a 70 base pair element containing a putative mitochondrial promoter motif (TCGTATAAAAA). Second, downstream of rrn26 is a sequence element that, if transcribed, would produce and RNA with a secondary structure resembling that of tRNAs but differing sufficiently from the latter structure to preclude any transcript from functioning normally in translation. These upstream and downstream sequence elements may play a role in the expression of rrn26 in wheat mitochondria.
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Spencer, D.F., Schnare, M.N., Coulthart, M.B. et al. Sequence and organization of a 7.2 kb region of wheat mitochondrial DNA containing the large subunit (26S) rRNA gene. Plant Mol Biol 20, 347–352 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00014506
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00014506