Antibody probes of RNA structure in the ribosome

Abstract

The RNA of each ribosomal subunit is folded in a specific and precise conformation. We have induced antibodies that are directed against individual naturally methylated nucIeosides, against reagents used in the chemical modification of unique sites in the RNA, and against antigenic determinants on synthetic oligodeoxynucleotides that complement specific ribosomal RNA sequences. All of these antibodies serve as probes of the RNA conformation in the ribosome. Immunoelectron microscopy--the visualization in electron micrographs of antibody-submit complexes-has been used to localize several nucleotides or short RNA sequences at specific sites on the surface of the small ribosomal submit. These results are used to generate an increasingly detailed map of the conformation of the RNA within the three-dimensional structure of the Escherichia coli ribosome.