Identification and characterization of a Dictyostelium discoideum ribosomal protein gene

We have identified a developmentally repressed large-subunit ribosomal protein gene of Dictyostelium discoideum based on sequence similarity to other ribosomal proteins. Protein rpl7 is homologous to large subunit ribosomal proteins from the rat and possibly to Mycoplasma capricolum and Escherichia coli, but is not similar to three sequenced ribosomal proteins in Dictyostelium. The rpl7 gene is present at one copy per genome, as are six other cloned Dictyostelium ribosomal proteins. Restriction fragment length polymorphisms exist for ribosomal protein genes rpl7, rp1024, and rp110 in strain HU182; most Dictyostelium ribosomal protein genes examined are linked no closer than 30-100 kb to each other in the genome. Dictyostelium ribosomal proteins are known to be developmentally regulated, and levels of rpl7 transcript gradually decrease during the 24-hour development cycle. This drop correlates with that of rp1024, indicating these and other ribosomal protein genes may be coordinately regulated. To determine the cellular location of the protein, we raised antibodies to an rpl7-derived branched synthetic peptide. These antibodies cross-reacted with one protein of the expected size in a ribosomal protein fraction of Dictyostelium, indicating that the product of gene rpl7 is localized in the ribosome.