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Updated: May 10, 2026

Single Molecule Fluorescence Energy Transfer Study of Ribosome Protein Synthesis
Published on: July 6, 2021
Crystal structures of EF-G-ribosome complexes trapped in intermediate states of translocation
Jie Zhou1, Laura Lancaster, John Paul Donohue
1Center for Molecular Biology of RNA and Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA.
Abstract:
Translocation of messenger and transfer RNA (mRNA and tRNA) through the ribosome is a crucial step in protein synthesis, whose mechanism is not yet understood. The crystal structures of three Thermus ribosome-tRNA-mRNA-EF-G complexes trapped with β,γ-imidoguanosine 5'-triphosphate (GDPNP) or fusidic acid reveal conformational changes occurring during intermediate states of translocation, including large-scale rotation of the 30S subunit head and body. In all complexes, the tRNA acceptor ends occupy the 50S subunit E site, while their anticodon stem loops move with the head of the 30S subunit to positions between the P and E sites, forming chimeric intermediate states. Two universally conserved bases of 16S ribosomal RNA that intercalate between bases of the mRNA may act as "pawls" of a translocational ratchet. These findings provide new insights into the molecular mechanism of ribosomal translocation.
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