Two long and uninterrupted reading frames, specifying the ND1 and RTL genes, are embedded within fragmented rRNA genes in the 15.8-kb mitochondrial genome of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a unicellular green alga. The ND1 gene encodes a subunit of respiratory NADH dehydrogenase, a standard mitochondrial gene, while the RTL gene is related to the reverse transcriptase-like part of some optional introns and plasmids in fungal mitochondria. The universal genetic code is used in both the ND1 and RTL genes; however, the latter is distinguished from the other protein coding genes of C. reinhardtii mtDNA by several characteristics which suggest that RTL may be a more recently acquired gene. Flanking each of the protein coding genes, whose mRNAs are of similar abundance, are some of the 'scrambled' rRNA gene pieces that are a unique feature of C. reinhardtii mtDNA. These sub-genic modules give rise to high-abundance, small-sized pieces of rRNA, which are not spliced in this genetic system. Judging by the observed juxtaposition of transcripts as they hybridize to the genome, the mature rRNA and mRNA species from this region appear to be generated by precise endonucleolytic cleavages of a long RNA precursor. We suggest a model, involving reverse transcription of rRNAs and insertion of the resulting cDNAs into the mitochondrial genome, that might account for the pattern of dispersed rRNA gene pieces in C. reinhardtii mitochondrial DNA.