Scientists See the Steps of Single Ribosomes
A project led by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, Santa Cruz is allowing scientists to see individual ribosomes in action for the first time.
Ribosomes play an important role in the body by translating the genetic instructions carried by messenger RNA (mRNA). The ability to watch the functions of single ribosomes will be a tremendous benefit to cancer researchers studying how the molecules impact tumor development and suppression.
The innovative technique, which uses optical tweezers, microscopic beads and specially engineered ribosomes, allowed the team to watch the precise steps ribosomes take as they move from one codon to the next – something that was not possible when scientists could only view specimens containing trillions of ribosomes. The new capability is already yielding surprises about how ribosomes start and stop during translation phases and the scientists are optimistic they’ll be many more to follow. As one biophysicist involved with the project said,
“We started working on this project more than six years ago as a collaboration between our three laboratories and there were many years of frustration, false starts, and disappointment. Today, thanks to our stubbornness, we are very happy with the knowledge that many new discoveries lie ahead.”
Carlos Bustamante, PhD
Biophysicist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Researchers from the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory and Kyoto University also participated in the multi-disciplinary project, which was supported by the California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), the National Institutes of Health and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
The team reports that refinements they’ve recently made on the technique now allow them to exert force on the ribosome as well as the mRNA making it possible to obtain even more details about the translation process.
If you’d like to learn more about the ribosome research, the team’s work is featured on the cover of the April 3, 2008, issue of the journal Nature.
Source: Berkeley Lab News Center
Related Links: National DNA Day from the National Human Genome Research Institute
Technorati Tags: biochemistry; molecular biology; nucleotides; oncogenesis; Howard Hughes Medical Institute; nanomedicine; US Department of Energy
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