The nucleotide sequence of the large ribosomal RNA gene and the adjacent tRNA genes from rat mitochondria

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Abstract
We have sequenced the Eco R1 fragment D from rat mitochondrial DNA. It contains one third of the tRNAVal gene (the remaining part has been sequenced from the 3′ end of the Eco R1 fragment A) the complete gene for the large mt 16S rRNA, the tRNALeu gene and the 5′ end of an unidentified reading frame. The mt gene for the large rRNA from rat has been aligned with the homologous genes from mouse and human using graphic computer programs. Hypervariable regions at the center of the molecule and highly conserved regions toward the 3′ end have been detected. The mt gene for tRNALeu is of the conventional type and its primary structure is highly conserved among mammals. The mt gene for tRNAVal shows characteristics similar to those of other mt tRNA genes but the degree of homology is lower. Comparative studies confirm that AGA and AGG are read as stop codons in mammalian mitochondria.