Cloned DNA sequences complementary to mRNAs encoding precursors to the small subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase and a chlorophyll a/b binding polypeptide.

Double-stranded cDNA was synthesized from pea poly(A)-containing mRNA and inserted into the Pst I site of the bacterial plasmid pBR322 by the addition of synthetic oligonucleotide linkers. Bacterial colonies containing recombinant plasmids were detected by hybridization to partially purified mRNAs and further characterized by cell-free translation of hybridization-selected mRNAs. To confirm the identity of cDNA clones encoding chloroplast polypeptides, we incubated translation products derived from complementary mRNAs with intact chloroplasts in vitro. After uptake, precursor polypeptides were converted to their mature size and identified by fractionation of the chloroplast stroma and thylakoid membranes. By using these procedures, we have isolated and characterized cDNA clones encoding the two major cytoplasmically synthesized chloroplast proteins: the small subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase and a constituent polypeptide (polypeptide 15) of the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-protein complex. Similarly, a third cDNA clone was isolated and shown to encode a 22,000-dalton thylakoid membrane polypeptide.