Protein composition of Saccharomyces cerevisiae mitochondrial ribosomes

Protein composition of mitochondrial ribosomes of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was analysed by two-dimensional electrophoresis. The small (37S) mitoribosomal subunit contains 36 different polypeptides with molecular weights ranging from 10,000 to 60,000. The large (50S) subunit is composed of 41 proteins with molecular weights from 10,000 to 43,000. The molecular weights of mitoribosomal small and large subunits are 1.85 MDa and 2.35 MDa, respectively. Proteins represent 60-62% and 42-45% of the total mass of 37S and 50S subunits respectively. On the basis of the protein content and molecular weights of individual proteins we conclude that all mitoribosomal proteins are present in the mitoribosome in equimolar proportions.