title: Ribosome Assembly as Antimicrobial Target.
abstract: Many antibiotics target the ribosome and interfere with its translation cycle. Since translation is the source of all cellular proteins including ribosomal proteins, protein synthesis and ribosome assembly are interdependent. As a consequence, the activity of translation inhibitors might indirectly cause defective ribosome assembly. Due to the difficulty in distinguishing between direct and indirect effects, and because assembly is probably a target in its own right, concepts are needed to identify small molecules that directly inhibit ribosome assembly. Here, we summarize the basic facts of ribosome targeting antibiotics. Furthermore, we present an in vivo screening strategy that focuses on ribosome assembly by a direct fluorescence based read-out that aims to identify and characterize small molecules acting as primary assembly inhibitors.
authors.affiliation: Institut f&#252;r Medizinische Physik und Biophysik, Charit&#233;-Universit&#228;tsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany. rainer.nikolay@charite.de.
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nikolay
authors.affiliation: Molecular Microbiology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz 78457, Germany. Sabine.Schmidt@uni-konstanz.de.
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.affiliation: Molecular Microbiology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz 78457, Germany. Renate.Schloemer@uni-konstanz.de.
authors.forename: Renate
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schlömer
authors.affiliation: Molecular Microbiology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz 78457, Germany. elke.deuerling@uni-konstanz.de.
authors.forename: Elke
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Deuerling
authors.affiliation: Institut f&#252;r Medizinische Physik und Biophysik, Charit&#233;-Universit&#228;tsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany. nierhaus@molgen.mpg.de.
authors.forename: Knud H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Nierhaus
keywords: concepts for identifying assembly inhibitors; inhibitors of ribosome assembly; protein synthesis as preferential target of antibiotics; ribosome as antibiotic target