For over 40 years, scientists have studied the machine that synthesizes proteins. Yet, until recently, no one had "seen" the ribosome with any great clarity
Protein synthesis is one of the fundamental life-sustaining processes in the cell. Each protein is synthesized by stringing together its basic building blocks, called amino acids, according to a sequence specified by the genetic blueprint that resides in the cell's DNA.
Figure 1. Ribosomes are the cellular machines on which proteins are synthesized. These machines, composed of RNA and proteins, are only 25 nanometers in size, which makes them difficult to see with any great clarity, even when heavy-metal salt staining is used as it was to make this early electron micrograph. In this image of ribosomes from the bacterium Escherichia coli, two subunits, one large and one small, can be discerned. Some information can be inferred about how protein synthesis is carried out at the ribosome from images such as this and from biochemical studies. A more complete visualization of the ribosome's interior would help explain how the various components interact, leading ultimately to a very detailed description of protein synthesis. The author has been working for the past 20 years to develop methods of cryo-electron microscopy and single-particle reconstruction to do just that. (Micrograph reprinted with permission from Huxley and Zubay, 1960.)
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