Primary Structure of Drosophila Ribosomal Protein L14 and Identification of Conserved Protein Motifs

Abstract

Determination of the primary structure of individual ribosomal proteins is important for understanding their functions and organization within the ribosome. I have sequenced a cDNA that encodes a Drosophila homolog of the rat ribosomal protein L14. The cDNA sequence was 601 nucleotides long, with an open reading frame encoding a protein of 166 amino acids. Homology searches revealed 34-38% sequence identity to the rat and yeast L14 ribosomal proteins. There were also extensive homologies to sequences in the EST database, which are likely to encode portions of LI 4. Analysis of sequence comparisons revealed several highly conserved regions, one of which is related to a portion of ribosomal protein L27. The sizes of the L14 proteins vary between different species, with most of the variability confined to the C-terminal region.

Key Words:

• Drosophila
• homology
• L14
• ribosomal protein
• ribosome