The race to resolve the atomic structures of the ribosome. On the Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded to Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Thomas A. Steitz, and Ada E. Yonath

Abstract

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2009 was awarded to three scientists, Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Thomas A. Steitz, and Ada E. Yonath, for their investigations into the structure and functioning of ribosomes. These complex cellular particles are where genetic information is decoded and proteins are synthesized. Consequently, ribosomes play a central role inthe biology of all living organisms. Ribosomes are composed of one small and one large subunit, which in prokaryotes are respectively referred to as 30S and 50S according to their sedimentation properties. In both subunits, about two thirds of the mass corresponds to ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and the rest to different proteins. Given their biological relevance and the fact that they are the target of a large variety of clinically relevant antibiotics, ribosomes have been the subject of intense and continuousresearch since the 1960s, when the genetic code was unraveled. These investigations led, and to some extent culminated, with the results published in 2000 (annus mirabilis for ribosomes), reporting the crystal structures of the 50S ribosomal subunit from Haloarcula marismortui at 2.4Å resolution and, a few weeks later, of the 30S subunit from Thermus thermophilus at 3.3Å and 3.0Å resolution, by teams led by the three laureates. These results have been instrumental in understanding ribosome function at the atomic level. However, there are many years of work ahead, as much remains to be learned about ribosomes; in particular the structure of the eukaryotic ribosome has yet to be elucidated.