Structure of RRF and Binding To Ribosomes
The crystal structure of RRF was first determined by X-ray diffraction in 1999. The most striking revelation was that RRF is a near-perfect structural mimic of tRNA, in both size and dimensions. One view of RRF can be seen here.
Despite the tRNA-mimicry, RRF binds to ribosomes quite differently from the way tRNA does. It has been suggested that ribosomes bind proteins (or protein domain) of similar shape and size to tRNA, and this, rather than function, explains the observed structural mimicry.
Read more about this topic: Ribosome Recycling Factor
Famous quotes containing the words structure of, structure and/or binding:
“... the structure of our public morality crashed to earth. Above its grave a tombstone read, “Be tolerant—even of evil.” Logically the next step would be to say to our commonwealth’s criminals, “I disagree that it’s all right to rob and murder, but naturally I respect your opinion.” Tolerance is only complacence when it makes no distinction between right and wrong.”
—Sarah Patton Boyle, U.S. civil rights activist and author. The Desegregated Heart, part 2, ch. 2 (1962)
“There is no such thing as a language, not if a language is anything like what many philosophers and linguists have supposed. There is therefore no such thing to be learned, mastered, or born with. We must give up the idea of a clearly defined shared structure which language-users acquire and then apply to cases.”
—Donald Davidson (b. 1917)
“With a binding like you’ve got, people are gonna want to know what’s in the book.”
—Alan Jay Lerner (1918–1986)