During protein synthesis, translational release factors catalyze the release of the polypeptide chain when a stop codon on the mRNA reaches the A site of the ribosome. The detailed mechanism of this process is currently unknown. We present here the crystal structures of the ribosome from Thermus thermophilus with RF1 and RF2 bound to their cognate stop codons, at resolutions of 5.9 Angstrom and...

Solid silicon monoxide is an amorphous material which has been commercialized for many functional applications. However, the amorphous structure of silicon monoxide is a long-standing question because of the uncommon valence state of silicon in the oxide. It has been deduced that amorphous silicon monoxide undergoes an unusual disproportionation by forming silicon- and silicon-dioxide-like regi...

Background. HNF-1a is a transcription factor that regulates glucose metabolism by expression in various tissues. Aim. To dock potential ligands of HNF-1a using docking software in silico. Methods. We performed in silico studies using HNF-1a protein 2GYP·pdb and the following softwares: ISIS/Draw 2.5SP4, ARGUSLAB 4.0.1, and HEX5.1. Observations. The docking distances (in angstrom units: 1 angstr...

(+)-Epi-biotin differs from (+)-biotin in the configuration of the chiral center at atom C2. This could lead to a difference in the mode of binding of (+)-epi-biotin to streptavidin, a natural protein receptor for (+)-biotin. Diffraction data were collected to a maximum of 0.85 Angstrom resolution for structural analysis of the complex of streptavidin with a sample of (+)-epi-biotin and refinem...

We describe the crystal structure of the complete Thermus thermophilus 70S ribosome containing bound messenger RNA and transfer RNAs (tRNAs) at 5.5 angstrom resolution. All of the 16S, 23S, and 5S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) chains, the A-, P-, and E-site tRNAs, and most of the ribosomal proteins can be fitted to the electron density map. The core of the interface between the 30S small subunit and the...

The crystal structure of the arabinose-binding and dimerization domain of the Escherchia coli gene regulatory protein AraC was determined in the presence and absence of L-arabinose. The 1.5 angstrom structure of the arabinose-bound molecule shows that the protein adopts an unusual fold, binding sugar within a beta barrel and completely burying the arabinose with the amino-terminal arm of the pr...

Proton pumps in the plasma membrane of plants and yeasts maintain the intracellular pH and membrane potential. To gain insight into the molecular mechanisms of proton pumping, we built an atomic homology model of the proton pump based on the 2.6 angstrom x-ray structure of the related Ca2+ pump from rabbit sarcoplasmic reticulum. The model, when fitted to an 8 angstrom map of the Neurospora pro...

As the originator of the oxygen in our atmosphere, the photosynthetic water-splitting enzyme of chloroplasts is vital for aerobic life on the earth. It has a manganese cluster at its active site, but it is poorly understood at the molecular level. Polarized synchrotron radiation was used to examine the x-ray absorption of manganese in oriented chloroplasts. The manganese site, in the "resting" ...

The crystal structure of the double-stranded DNA bacteriophage HK97 mature empty capsid was determined at 3.6 angstrom resolution. The 660 angstrom diameter icosahedral particle contains 420 subunits with a new fold. The final capsid maturation step is an autocatalytic reaction that creates 420 isopeptide bonds between proteins. Each subunit is joined to two of its neighbors by ligation of the ...