The RNase E/G-type endoribonuclease of higher plants is located in the chloroplast and cleaves RNA similarly to the E. coli enzyme.

ABSTRACT: RNase E is an endoribonuclease that has been studied primarily in Escherichia coli, where it is prominently involved in the processing and degradation of RNA. Homologs of bacterial RNase E are encoded in the nuclear genome of higher plants. RNA degradation in the chloroplast, an organelle that originated from a prokaryote similar to cyanobacteria, occurs via the polyadenylation-assisted degradation pathway. In E. coli, this process is probably initiated with the removal of 5'-end phosphates followed by endonucleolytic cleavage by RNase E. The plant homolog has been proposed to function in a similar way in the chloroplast. Here we show that RNase E of Arabidopsis is located in the soluble fraction of the chloroplast as a high molecular weight complex. In order to characterize its endonucleo

SUBMITTER: Schein A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2390796 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature