Mitochondrial Ribosomal Protein L30 (MRPL30)

Mammalian mitochondrial ribosomal proteins are encoded by nuclear genes and help in protein synthesis within the mitochondrion. Mitochondrial ribosomes (mitoribosomes) consist of a small 28S subunit and a large 39S subunit. Among different species, the proteins comprising the mitoribosome differ greatly in sequence, and sometimes in biochemical properties, which prevents easy recognition by sequence homology.

MRPL30 encodes a 39S subunit protein. Sequence analysis identified at least two transcript variants encoding the same protein. Pseudogenes corresponding to this gene are found on chromosomes 6p and 12p. The deduced 162-amino acid human MRPL30 protein contains a 34-amino acid N-terminal mitochondrial import signal.