Structure of the small ribosomal subunit

The ribosome is one of the most important components of the cell. It is solely responsible for protein synthesis in every organism. Aside from its biological interest, the ribosome is potent target for many antibiotics used in medicine and biology. Biochemists have studied the ribosome for decades, yet the details of ribosome mechanism have always been elusive. The introductory first chapter gives a history of ribosome research with an emphasis on structural studies. Protein crystallography was used to determine the atomic structure of the small ribosomal subunit. In the process of doing this two intermediate stages were reached. The first of the stages was the atomic structure of ribosomal protein S 15 from Bacillus stearothermophilus and is detailed in Chapter 2. The second stage was the medium resolution structure of the entire small subunit from Thermus thermophilus and is described in Chapter 3. These results facilitated the 3Å structure of the whole of the structure of the small subunit detailed in Chapter 4. The aim of this thesis is to provide the reader with a clear understanding of the interest in ribosome structural work along with explaining the functional insights gleaned from the structure of the small ribosomal subunit.