Open AccessMaize mitochondria synthesize organ-specific polypeptides.
Author(s) -
Kathleen J. Newton,
Virginia Walbot
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.82.20.6879
Subject(s) - mitochondrion , biology , organelle , cytoplasm , biochemistry , protein biosynthesis , microbiology and biotechnology
We detected both quantitative and qualitative organ-specific differences in the total protein composition of mitochondria of maize. Labeling of isolated mitochondria from each organ demonstrated that a few protein differences are due to changes in the polypeptides synthesized by the organelle. The synthesis of developmental stage-specific mitochondrial polypeptides was found in the scutella of developing and germinating kernels. The approximately 13-kDa polypeptide synthesized by mitochondria from seedlings of the Texas (T) male-sterile cytoplasm was shown to be constitutively expressed in all organs of line B37T tested. Methomyl, an insecticide known to inhibit the growth of T sterile plants, was shown to be an effective inhibitor of protein synthesis in mitochondria from T plants.