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Organelle (mitochondria and chloroplasts in plants) genomes lost a large number of genes after endosymbiosis occurred. Even after this major gene loss, organelle genomes still lose their own genes, even those that are essential, via gene transfer to the nucleus and gene substitution of either different organelle origin or de novo genes. Gene transfer and substitution events are important processes in the evolution of the eukaryotic cell. Gene loss is an ongoing process in the mitochondria and chloroplasts of higher plants. The gene for ribosomal protein S16 (rps16) is encoded in the chloroplast genome of most higher plants but not in Medicago truncatula and Populus alba. Here, we show that these 2 species have compensated for loss of the rps16 from the chloroplast genome by having a mitochondrial rps16 that can target the chloroplasts as well as mitochondria. Furthermore, in Arabidopsis thaliana, Lycopersicon esculentum, and Oryza sativa, whose chloroplast genomes encode the rps16, we show that the product of the mitochondrial rps16 has dual targeting ability. These results suggest that the dual targeting of RPS16 to the mitochondria and chloroplasts emerged before the divergence of monocots and dicots (140-150 MYA). The gene substitution of the chloroplast rps16 by the nuclear-encoded rps16 in higher plants is the first report about ongoing gene substitution by dual targeting and provides evidence for an intermediate stage in the formation of this heterogeneous organelle.

Substitution of the Gene for Chloroplast RPS16 Was Assisted by Generation of a Dual Targeting Signal