Comment on:

Science. 2000 Aug 11;289(5481):905-20.

Science. 2000 Aug 11;289(5481):920-30.

Science. 2000 Aug 11;289(5481):947-50.

Structural biology. The ribosome is a ribozyme.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 4000 Jones Bridge Road, Chevy Chase, MD 20815-6789, USA. thomas.cech@colorado.edu

Ribosomes, the cellular factories that manufacture proteins, contain both RNA and protein, but exactly how all of the different ribosomal components contribute to protein synthesis is still not clear. Now, as Thomas Cech explains in his Perspective, atomic resolution of the structure of the large ribosomal subunit reveals that, as predicted by those convinced of a prebiotic RNA world, RNA is the catalytic component with proteins being the structural units that support and stabilize it (Ban et al., Nissen et al., Muth et al.).

PMID: 10960319 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]