ABSTRACT
Two cDNA clones for the small subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (SSU) of Batophora oerstedii were isolated and sequenced. One clone contains the coding information for the complete SSU precursor protein. As in two other species of Dasycladaceae (Acetabularia mediterranea and A. cliftonii), the rbcS cDNA sequences of B. oerstedii display the codons TAA or TAG, which seem to code for glutamine, in the reading frame. The amino acid substitution rate for the SSU protein was calculated to be 0.35-0.41 amino acids per 10(9) years per site based on the substitutions observed in the SSU amino acid sequences of Acetabularia and Batophora.
Subject(s)
Biological Evolution , Chlorophyta/genetics , Ribulose-Bisphosphate Carboxylase/genetics , Amino Acid Sequence , Base Sequence , Chlorophyta/enzymology , Cloning, Molecular , DNA , Molecular Sequence DataABSTRACT
Amino acid sequences of the small subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (SSU) of Acetabularia cliftonii and A. mediterranea were derived from five cDNA sequences of each of the two species of algae and by direct amino acid sequence determination of the isolated protein. An homology of more than 96% between the proteins indicates the close relationship between the two algae. All ten cDNAs in the reading frame display the termination codons TAA and/or TAG at various positions, which seem to code for the amino acid glutamine when compared with the amino acid sequence from the mature protein. This is reminiscent of proteins from ciliates where TAA and TAG also code for glutamine.
