Evolution of Ribosomal Proteins

We have studied the evolution of ribosomal proteins over a spectrum of 13 species ranging from man to plants using a two‐dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis technique. We tried to quantify the proximity of these species by coelectrophoresing the proteins from various combinations of two species. The following tentative conclusions have been reached. For reptiles and birds which diverged 300 million years ago from the line leading to mammals, ribosomal proteins display the same fingerprints as mammals. For amphibians and fish which diverged 350–400 and 440–500 million years ago respectively, the fingerprints show limited differences compared with mammals. Those of fish show some diversity within the species. For lower species (crustaceans, molluscs) and plants, the fingerprints exhibit a great diversity.