Mendelian and uniparental alterations in erythromycin binding by plastid ribosomes.

Erythromycin binds specifically to the 52S subunit of the chloroplast ribosome of Chlamydomonas reinhardi. A number of erythromycin-resistant mutants whose ribosomes have lost their affinity for the antibiotic have been isolated, but the sedimentation properties of their ribosomes are indistinguishable from those of the wild-type strain. These mutants represent at least three genetic loci. Two of them show Mendelian inheritance, and one of them is inherited in a uniparental manner.