Staphyloccus ribosome structure researched by KFU Structural Biology Lab

Researchers at the KFU Structural Biology Lab and the University of Strasbourg have mapped the full ribosome structure of Staphylococcus aureus through cryo-electron HD microscopy. The results were published in Nucleic Acids Research.

The bacterial ribosome is a macromolecular complex containing three RNA molecules and about 50 individual proteins. Before this study, the structure of gram-negative bacteria's ribosomes had been researched in atomic definition only through X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy, with only medium-definition results.

In 2016, Marat Yusupov, head of the Structural Biology Lab and the Ribosome Structure Lab at IGBMC said, "The main constraint of this project now is that KFU doesn't have cryo-electron microscopy which would allow researching frozen specimens and discover the structure of macromolecular complexes with very high precision, basically on the molecular level. X-ray crystallography allows studying protein structure on its chemical-atomic level, when each atom can be positioned in 3-D, which gives us the opportunity to predict which inhibitors and small molecules can deactivate the protein. There are not many research centers that possess all the three technologies, as well as not many of those who study ribosome structures. The problem is both in the object and in the research methods."

By presenting the Staphylococcus ribosome structure in HD cryo-electron microscopy the researchers have significantly advanced in their work - the one which is of great significance for medicine, starting from mild skin diseases and ending with lethal infections like pneumonia, meningitis, osteomyelitis, endocarditis, toxic shock, and septicemia.

The scientists found a way to "disable" protein synthesis in Staphylococcus cells and thus a way to kill it. There are many drug-resistant strains of Staphylococcus circulating in the population, so this research can lead to saving millions of lives in the long run.

More information:
Iskander Khusainov et al, Structure of the 70S ribosome from human pathogen, Nucleic Acids Research (2016). DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkw933

Provided by Kazan Federal University