Isolation and Characterization of Two Genes Encoding Ubiquitin Fused to a Ribosomal Protein of 53 Amino Acids in Rice

We isolated and determined the nucleotide sequences of two genes encoding ubiquitin fused to a ribosomal protein, Ub-CEP52, from rice (Oryza saliva L.). The deduced amino-acid sequences of the two genes were found to be completely identical. The N-terminal region of 76 residues corresponds to ubiquitin, and the C-terminal region of 53 residues corresponds to ribosomal protein L40. A putative TATA-like sequence, a polypyrimidine sequence, and a similar sequence to telo-box were found in the promoter regions of the two genes. Furthermore, the putative tRNA ro gene was found in the 5′-upstream region of one of them.