RNA editing in six mitochondrial ribosomal protein genes of Didymium iridis

Similarity searches with Didymium iridis mitochondrial genomic DNA identified six possible ribosomal protein-coding regions, however, each region contained stop codons that would need to be removed by RNA editing to produce functional transcripts. RT-PCR was used to amplify these regions from total RNA for cloning and sequencing. Six functional transcripts were verified for the following ribosomal protein genes: rpS12, rpS7, rpL2, rpS19, rpS3, and rpL16. The editing events observed, such as single C and U nucleotide insertions and a dinucleotide insertion, were consistent with previously observed editing patterns seen in D. iridis. Additionally, a new form of insertional editing, a single A insertion, was observed in a conserved region of the rpL16 gene. While the majority of codons created by editing specify hydrophobic amino acids, a greater proportion of the codons created in these hydrophilic ribosomal proteins called for positively charged amino acids in comparison to the previously characterized hydrophobic respiratory protein genes. This first report of edited soluble mitochondrial ribosomal proteins in myxomycetes expands upon the RNA editing patterns previously seen; there was: a greater proportion of created codons specifying positively charged amino acids, a shift in the codon position edited, and the insertion of single A nucleotides.