title: Conserved sequence blocks 5' to start codons of plant mitochondrial genes.
abstract: Three sequence blocks of 10-12 bp are conserved in sequence and order 5' to putative start codons of several higher-plant mitochondrial genes. At least 25 examples were found, primarily associated with coxII, atp6, and orf25, in monocotyledons and dicotyledons. The proximal block can be 9 bp from start codons, and the three blocks generally occur within 100 bp 5' of start codons. In three examples 5' termini of the blocks represent recombination breakpoints, resulting in conservation of the blocks in resultant configurations. The two proximal blocks can form a secondary structure motif. The occurrence of the blocks near start codons, and conserved sequence and order, is consistent with a possible role in translation initiation or regulation.
authors.affiliation: USDA-ARS, Gainesville, FL.
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Pring
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Mullen
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kempken
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002872:Chromosome Deletion; D003062:Codon / Q000235:genetics; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000235:genetics; D017343:Genes, Plant; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010944:Plants / Q000235:genetics*; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
chemical_list: D003062:Codon; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV