MITOCHONDRIAL TARGETING PEPTIDES IN PLANTS

Proteins function at distinct sites in the cell, yet most are primaril y synthesized in the cytosol and must therefore be transported intrace llularly to their final destination. Mitochondrial targeting peptides are localized at the N-terminus of the precursor proteins and most are cleaved off after import into mitochondria. Cleavage is catalysed by the general mitochondrial processing peptidase, which, in plants, is i ntegrated into the be, complex of the respiratory chain. This peptidas e recognizes the cleavage sites of nearly 1000 precursor proteins that have no sequence similarity.