Despite the increasing knowledge on the importance of the intron splicing of chloroplast genes during plant growth and stress responses, identification of intron-containing chloroplast genes and determination of splice sites in chloroplast introns are still lacking. | Science & Technology Development, Vol 20, 2017 Comprehensive analysis of chloroplast introncontaining genes and conserved splice sites in dicot and monocot plants Nguyen Dinh Sy Tay nguyen University; Chonnam National University Hunseung Kang Chonnam National University (Received on June 5th 2016, accepted on April 14th 2017) ABSTRACT Despite the increasing knowledge on the clpP lacked introns in monocot plants, except M. importance of the intron splicing of chloroplast genes acuminata. Analysis of the nucleotide sequences of during plant growth and stress responses, chloroplast introns revealed that the 5’-splice sites, identification of intron-containing chloroplast genes 3’-splice sites, and branch-point sites of the and determination of splice sites in chloroplast chloroplast introns were highly conserved among introns are still lacking. Here, we carried out a dicots and monocots. Notably, the 5’-splice sites and comprehensive analysis of the chloroplast genome 3’-splice sites of the chloroplast introns were similar sequences in important plants and crops, including to those of the nuclear U12 introns, whereas the four dicots (Arabidopsis thaliana, Coffea arabica, branch-point sites of the chloroplast introns were Nicotiana tabacum, and Panax schinseng) and four homologous to those of the nuclear U2 introns. Taken monocots (Musa acuminata, Oryza sativa, Triticum together, these results indicated that the chloroplast aestivum, and Zea mays). The results showed that genomes contained strictly limited intron-containing both dicot and monocot chloroplast genomes harbor genes with conserved splice sites, suggesting that 6 intron-containing tRNAs (trnA, trnG, trnI, trnK, splicing of chloroplast introns was important for trnL, and trnV) and 10-12 intron-containing mRNAs chloroplast biogenesis and function in both dicot and (atpF, rpl2, rpl16, rps16, ndhA, ndhB, petB, petD, monocot plants. rpoC1, rps12, ycf3, and clpP). Notably, rpoC1 and Keywords: .
