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Updated: May 9, 2026

Single Molecule Fluorescence Energy Transfer Study of Ribosome Protein Synthesis
Published on: July 6, 2021
A mechanistic study supports a two-step mechanism for peptide bond formation on the ribosome
Byung Jin Byun1, Young Kee Kang
1Department of Chemistry, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Chungbuk 361-763, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
We report the feasible pathways of the quaternary model system for the ribosome-catalyzed PT reaction obtained by density functional calculations. Our results indicate that the step from the reactant complex to the first six-membered TS involving a proton shuttle via the 2'-OH of the P-site A76 in the stepwise pathway is the most favored rate-limiting step in solution. It is found that the C-O3' bond-breaking of A76 is not significant but the C-N bond formation with a tetrahedral intermediate occurs in the rate-limiting step and that the fast breakdown of the C-O3' bond is followed in the second transition state. These are consistent with recent kinetic experiments.
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