Translational Control of Photosynthetic Genes in Tobacco Plastids

Plastid DNAs of higher plants are circular molecules ranging in size from 120 kb to 160 Kb and are thought to contain around 150 genes (Palmer 1991; Sugiura 1992). The plastid genome from tobacco comprises of 155,939 bp and includes 105 different genes so far identified (Wakasugi et al. 1998). Among them, 31 genes encode components of the photosynthetic apparatus and 11 genes are for subunits of NADH dehydrogenase (these 42 genes are termed as photosynthetic genes here).