The 5S RNA - protein complex from yeast: a model for the evolution and structure of the eukaryotic ribosome

The ribosomal 5S RNA - protein complex appears to be an excellent model for studies on the evolution and structure of ribosomes. In eukaryotes this complex is composed of two components, the 5S rRNA and a single ribosomal protein which in yeast has a molecular weight of about 38 000. The primary protein-binding site is located in the 3' -end region of the 5S RNA together with a small portion of the 5' end. The primary RNA-binding site appears to be situated in the C-terminal end of the protein (YL3 in yeast) but the binding specificity requires other structural elements in the N-terminal half of the molecule. When compared with prokaryotic 5S RNA - protein complexes, various physical and chemical studies suggest that the basic structure and interactions have been conserved in the course of evolution, but that the single larger eukaryotic 5S RNA binding protein has evolved through a fusion of genes for the multiple 5S RNA binding proteins in prokaryotes.