Proteins function at distinct sites in the cell, yet most are primarily synthesized in the cytosol and must therefore be transported intracellularly to their final destination. Mitochondrial targeting peptides are localized at the N-terminus of the precursor proteins and most are cleaved off after import into mitochondria. Cleavage is catalysed by the general mitochondrial processing peptidase, which, in plants, is integrated into the bc₁ complex of the respiratory chain. This peptidase recognizes the cleavage sites of nearly 1000 precursor proteins that have no sequence similarity.