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Updated: Jul 29, 2025

Nanomanipulation of Single RNA Molecules by Optical Tweezers
Published on: August 20, 2014
Molecular functions of RNA helicases during ribosomal subunit assembly
Ali Khreiss1, Katherine E Bohnsack1, Markus T Bohnsack1,2,3
1Department of Molecular Biology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Humboldtallee 23, D-37073 Göttingen, Germany.
Abstract:
During their biogenesis, the ribosomal subunits undergo numerous structural and compositional changes to achieve their final architecture. RNA helicases are a key driving force of such remodelling events but deciphering their particular functions has long been challenging due to lack of knowledge of their molecular functions and RNA substrates. Advances in the biochemical characterisation of RNA helicase activities together with new insights into RNA helicase binding sites on pre-ribosomes and structural snapshots of pre-ribosomal complexes containing RNA helicases now open the door to a deeper understanding of precisely how different RNA helicases contribute to ribosomal subunit maturation.
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