Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Isolation of Translating Ribosomes Containing Peptidyl-tRNAs for Functional and Structural Analyses
Published on: February 25, 2011
The role of tRNA as a molecular spring in decoding, accommodation, and peptidyl transfer
Joachim Frank1, Jayati Sengupta, Haixiao Gao
1Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Post Office Box 509, Albany, New York 12201-0509, USA. joachim@wadsworth.org
Abstract:
Translation is the process by which the genetic information contained in mRNA is used to link amino acids in a predetermined sequential order into a polypeptide chain, which then folds into a protein. Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) are the adapter molecules designed to provide the "lookup" from codons to amino acids. Cryo-EM has provided evidence that the ribosome, as a molecular machine, undergoes many structural changes during translation. Recent findings show that the tRNA structure itself undergoes large conformational changes as well, and that the decoding process must be seen as a complex dynamic interplay between tRNA and the ribosome.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
tRNA Activation
tRNA Activation
Improving Translational Accuracy
Transfer RNA Synthesis
Each of these chemical modifications is carried by a specific enzyme, post-transcription. All of these enzymes have unique base and site-specificity. Methylation, the most common chemical modification, is carried by at least nine different enzymes, with...
Transfer RNA Synthesis
Each of these chemical modifications is carried by a specific enzyme, post-transcription. All of these enzymes have unique base and site-specificity. Methylation, the most common chemical modification, is carried by at least nine different enzymes, with...
Termination of Translation

