The Ribosome as a Molecular Machine, as Seen by Cryo-EM

Joachim Frank, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Despite the emergence of atomic structures for the ribosome and its subunits since the year 2000, the precise mechanism of protein synthesis is still obscure. The ribosome is a molecular machine par excellence, whose multiple binding interactions with co-factors and transfer RNA are highly processive. Some light has been shed on the dynamics of these processes by cryo-electron microscopy and single-particle reconstruction, the only method that provides 3D images of large molecules in their native states. This method, pioneered at the Wadsworth Center, has allowed us to observe binding positions and conformational changes of the ribosome and its ligands during translation.

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