核糖体的结构与功能研究——2009年诺贝尔化学奖简介

Studies on Structure and Function of Ribosome:a Brief Introduction to 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

一系列高分辨率的核糖体及其30S、50S亚基的晶体结构揭示了这个极其复杂的蛋白质翻译机器的重要作用机理,对在分子水平上了解生命机体产生和形成的一个基本环节(蛋白质合成)具有重大意义,同时为新型抗生素的设计与研发开辟了新方向新途径,对人类健康与生命保障具有重要作用.

The 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Thomas A. Steitz, and Ada E. Yonath ＂for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome＂. The atomic-resolution ribosome structures solved by the laureates revealed the structural basis of the mechanisms ofpeptide syntheses by ribosome. They demystified several long standing functions of ribosome, such as the high fidelity of the translation process and the wobble effect. Their work also paved ways for the development of new antibiotics, just when public health is faced with increasing threat from drug-resistant pathogenic bacteria.