The effects of cycloheximide and 5-fluorouracil on the formation of low-molecular-weight ribonucleic acid (RNA) in yeast were investigated. Both compounds were found to affect the synthesis of low-molecular-weight RNA of ribosomal origin more than transfer RNA but less than the high-molecular-weight ribosomal RNA. 5-Fluorouracil-containing transfer RNA was separated from normal transfer RNA by ...

Kethoxal reacts with 30S ribosomal subunits to give totally inactive particles, as measured by in vitro protein synthesis. It is postulated that functional modification occurs at the binding site for transfer RNA since (a) loss of specific binding of transfer RNA, but not binding of messenger RNA, is simultaneous with loss of protein synthesis, and (b) loss of activity is inhibited by bound tra...

While tRNA and aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases are classes of biomolecules that have been extensively studied for decades, the finer details of how they carry out their fundamental biological functions in protein synthesis remain a challenge. Recent molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are verifying experimental observations and providing new insight that cannot be addressed from experiments alone. T...

The effect of chloramphenicol on the synthesis and accumulation of ribonucleic acid (RNA) in Bacillus subtilis was studied. In the presence of chloramphenicol, transfer RNA and ribosomal RNA were synthesized as rapidly 2 to 3 hr after challenge as they were just prior to the addition of the antibiotic. However, under the same conditions, net RNA accumulation ceased after only 30 to 45 min. The ...

This chapter provides an overview of recent progress in understanding proton transfer in RNA enzymes. It was over 10 years ago that the previous book by the same editors was published. In that volume, there was no chapter on proton transfer. Indeed, it was unclear whether proton transfer made important contributions to RNA catalysis. Many things have changed in the last decade. Most importantly...

The binding of aminoacyl transfer ribonucleic acid @RNA) to ribosomes in the presence of corresponding messenger RNA (specific binding) is compared with that in the absence of messenger RNA (nonspecific binding). Specific binding is much more sensitive to tetracycline than nonspecific binding, and the former is similar to, but not identical with, the latter in its response to changes in Mg++ co...