A cDNA clone was isolated from a petunia (Petunia hybrida) cDNA library derived from cultures of petal protoplasts. DNA sequence analysis and database search revealed that the transcript encodes ribosomal (r)-protein L27. It contains an open reading frame corresponding to a protein of 150 amino acids whose molecular weight is 16,600 daltons. The deduced amino acid sequences of the clone is 65-80% identical with arabidopsis, yeast, human. When the genomic DNA from petunia was digested with EcoRI, HindIII and XbaI which have no recognition sites in the cloned cDNA, two to three bands were hybridized in each digest. These hybridization patterns suggested that there might exist a multigene family encoding these clones. Transcript levels of this gene was high in vegetative organ in particular young roots, stems while low in reproductive organ (stamen and pistil). Also the transcript strongly expressed in early stage of flower development. This results indicate that r-proteins in plant are differentially regulated in various tissues and developmental stage.