Genetic and structural analysis of base substitutions in the central pseudoknot of Thermus thermophilus 16S ribosomal RNA.

ABSTRACT: Characterization of base substitutions in rRNAs has provided important insights into the mechanism of protein synthesis. Knowledge of the structural effects of such alterations is limited, and could be greatly expanded with the development of a genetic system based on an organism amenable to both genetics and structural biology. Here, we describe the genetic analysis of base substitutions in 16S ribosomal RNA of the extreme thermophile Thermus thermophilus, and an analysis of the conformational effects of these substitutions by structure probing with base-specific modifying agents. Gene replacement methods were used to construct a derivative of strain HB8 carrying a single 16S rRNA gene, allowing the isolation of spontaneous streptomycin-resistant mutants and subsequent genetic mapping of

SUBMITTER: Gregory ST 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2648708 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature