The conformation of ribosomes and rRNA

During the past 18 months, electron microscopists have published two reconstructions of the Escherichia coli ribosome, independently derived from images of unstained particles. The resolutions of their images are 20-25 A-much higher than any previously available. During the same time, NMR spectroscopists have provided an atomic-resolution model for the A-site region of 16S rRNA complexed with paromomycin that explains much of what is known about the interaction of aminoglycoside antibiotics with ribosomes.