Mitochondrial Ribosomal Protein S33 (MRPS33)

MRPS33 encodes a 28S subunit protein that is one of the more highly conserved mitochondrial ribosomal proteins among mammals, Drosophila and C. elegans. Splice variants that differ in the 5' UTR have been found for this gene; all variants encode the same protein. Pseudogenes corresponding to this gene are found on chromosomes 1q, 4p, 4q, and 20q

The deduced 106-amino acid MRPS33 protein has a calculated molecular mass of 12.6 kD. Removal of a predicted 26-amino acid N-terminal mitochondrial localization signal results in a mature 9.7-kD protein. Koc et al. (2001) identified MRPS33 orthologs in mouse, Drosophila, and C. elegans, but not in yeast or E. coli. Mouse and human MRPS33 share 80.2% amino acid identity.