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Updated: Dec 29, 2025

Single Molecule Fluorescence Energy Transfer Study of Ribosome Protein Synthesis
Published on: July 6, 2021
Electrostatics of Prokaryotic Ribosome and Its Biological Implication
Jun Wang1, Chitra Karki2, Yi Xiao1
1School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
Abstract:
Ribosomes are essential machines for protein synthesis in cells. Their structures are very complex but conserved in different species. Because most parts of a ribosome are composed of negatively charged RNAs, its electrostatics should play a fundamental role in the realization of its functions. However, a complete picture of the electrostatics of ribosomes is still absent at present. Here, assisted by the latest version of DelPhi (version 8.4), we illustrate a picture of the electrostatics of a prokaryotic ribosome as well as its molecular chaperones. The revealed electrostatics features are consistent with available experimental data as well as the functions of the ribosome and its molecular chaperones and provides a basis for further studying the mechanism underlying these functions.
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