Two-dimensional crystalline sheets of Bacillus stearothermophilus 50S ribosomal subunits containing a nascent polypeptide chain.
Polylysine chains were synthesized on Bacillus stearothermophilus ribosomes in a poly(A)-programmed in vitro system. After separation of the ribosomal subunits by sucrose gradient centrifugation, the polylysine chains (in contrast to the polyphenylalanine chains synthesized in a poly(U) system) reproducibly remained attached to the large ribosomal subunit. It was possible to produce two-dimensional crystalline sheets from the large ribosomal subunits containing the polylysine chains. These sheets are an essential prerequisite for three-dimensional reconstruction studies aiming to show that the tunnel in the large ribosomal subunit provides a path for the nascent polypeptide chain.
D002458:Cell Fractionation; D002499:Centrifugation, Density Gradient; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D003460:Crystallization; D001411:Geobacillus stearothermophilus / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D011107:Polylysine / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D012270:Ribosomes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure*
D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D011107:Polylysine