Main description:

During the past few decades we have witnessed an era of remarkable growth in the field of molecular biology. In 1950 very little was known of the chemical constitution of biological systems, the manner in which information was transmitted from one organism to another, or the extent to which the chemical basis of life is unified. The picture today is dramati cally different. We have an almost bewildering variety of information de tailing many different aspects of life at the molecular level. These great advances have brought with them some breath-taking insights into the molecular mechanisms used by nature for replicating, distributing, and modifying biological information. We have learned a great deal about the chemical and physical nature of the macromolecular nucleic acids and proteins, and the manner in which carbohydrates, lipids, and smaller mole cules work together to provide the molecular setting of living systems. It might be said that these few decades have replaced a near vacuum of information with a very large surplus. It is in the context of this flood of information that this series of mono graphs on molecular biology has been organized. The idea is to bring together in one place, between the covers of one book, a concise assessment of the state of the subject in a well-defined field.

Contents:

1. Structure of Ribosomes.- 2. Immuno Electron Microscopy on Escherichia coli Ribosomes.- 3. Ribosome Structure, Function, and Evolution: Mapping Ribosomal RNA, Proteins, and Functional Sites in Three Dimensions.- 4. Structure of Ribosomes and Their Components by Advanced Techniques of Electron Microscopy and Computer Image Analysis.- 5. A 19 Protein Map of the 30S Ribosomal Subunit of Escherichia coli.- 6. Neutron-Scattering Analysis of Structural and Functional Aspects of the Ribosome: The Strategy of the Glassy Ribosome.- 7. Studies on Crystals of Intact Bacterial Ribosomal Particles.- 8. Self-Organization of Ribosomal RNA.- 9. Studies on the Structure and Function of Ribosomal RNA.- 10. Comparative Structural and Functional Studies on Small Ribosomal RNAs.- 11. RNA Structure and RNA-Protein Neighborhoods in the Ribosome.- 12. RNA Structure in Solution and on the 30S Ribosomal Subunit.- 13. The Folding of RNA in the 30S Subunit of Escherichia coli Ribosomes.- 14. Probing Ribosomal Structure and Function.- 15. How Do Protein L18 and 5S RNA Interact?.- 16. Structure and Interactions of Ribosomal Components and Ligands.- 17. Protein Topography of Ribosomal Functional Domains: Effects of Monoclonal Antibodies to Different Epitopes in Escherichia coli Protein L7/L12 on Ribosome Function and Structure.- 18. On the Structure, Function, and Dynamics of L7/L12 from Escherichia coli Ribosomes.- 19. Ribosomal Proteins: Their Structure and Evolution.- 20. Photoaffinity Labeling of Escherichia coli Ribosomes: New Approaches and Results.- 21. Structural Studies of the Factor Binding Domain.- 22. Studies of the Structure of Eukaryotic (Mammalian) Ribosomes.- 23. Structural and Functional Aspects of the N6, N6 Dimethyladenosines in 16S Ribosomal RNA.- 24. Structural Dynamics of the Translating Ribosome.- 25. Conformational Change of 50S Ribosomes during Protein Synthesis.- 26. Three tRNA Binding Sites Involved in the Ribosomal Elongation Cycle.- 27. Structural and Functional Interactions of the tRNA-Ribosome Complex.- 28. The Movement of tRNA through Ribosomes during Peptide Elongation: The Displacement Reaction Model.- 29. Isomers of Aminoacyl- and Peptidyl-tRNA in the Peptidyl Transferase Reaction.- 30. Mechanism of Ribosomal Translocation.- 31. The Aminoacyl-tRNA Elongation Factor Tu GTP Ternary Complex and Its Role in Aminoacyl-tRNA Selection at the Ribosome.- 32. Stereochemical Analysis of Ribosomal Transpeptidation, Translocation, and Nascent Peptide Folding.- 33. Ribosomal Proteins Tune Rate and Accuracy in Translation.- 34. Involvement of Specific Portions of Ribosomal RNA in Defined Ribosomal Functions: A Study Utilizing Antibiotics.- 35. Inhibitors of Protein Synthesis as Phylogenetic Markers.- 36. Role of the Initiation Factors in Escherichia coli Translational Initiation.- 37. Arrangement of Eukaryotic Initiation Factor 3 and Messenger RNA within Preinitiation Complexes.- 38. Novel Functions of EF-Tu during Polypeptide Synthesis and tuf Gene Expression.- 39. Elongation Factor Tu Mutants and Site-Directed Mutagenesis of tufA.- 40. Site-Directed Mutagenesis of Escherichia coli Ribosomal RNA.- 41. Structure and Expression of Ribosomal Protein Genes in Yeast.- 42. The Ribosomal Genes of Yeast and Their Regulation.- 43. Mutant Studies on the Prokaryotic Ribosome.- 44. Regulation of the Escherichia coli L10 Operon.- 45. Control of Ribosome Synthesis in Escherichia coli.