Construction of a Restriction Map and Gene Map of the Lettuce Chloroplast Small Single-Copy Region Using Southern Cross-Hybridization

The small single-copy region (SSCR) of the chloroplast genome of many higher plants typically contain ndh genes encoding proteins that share homology with subunits of the respiratory-chain reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) dehydrogenase complex of mitochondria. A map of the lettuce chloroplast SSCR has been determined by Southern cross-hybridization, taking advantage of the high degree of homology between a tobacco small single-copy fragment and a corresponding lettuce chloroplast fragment. The gene order of the SSCR of lettuce and tobacco chloroplasts is similar. The cross-hybridization method can rapidly create a primary gene map of unknown chloroplast fragments, thus providing detailed information of the localization and arrangement of genes and conserved open reading frame regions.