Identification and comparative analysis of the large subunit mitochondrial ribosomal proteins of Neurospora crassa.

The mitochondrial ribosome (mitoribosome) has highly evolved from its putative prokaryotic ancestor and varies considerably from one organism to another. To gain further insights into its structural and evolutionary characteristics, we have purified and identified individual mitochondrial ribosomal proteins of Neurospora crassa by mass spectrometry and compared them with those of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Most of the mitochondrial ribosomal proteins of the two fungi are well conserved with each other, although the degree of conservation varies to a large extent.