Ribosomes in Motion: The Dynamics of Nature's Protein Synthesis Machinery

The ribosome can be regarded as a molecular machine that converts chemical and thermal energy into productive mechanical work. This chemo- and thermomechanical view of ribosome function continues to fuel efforts to identify the mobile components of the ribosomal machine, characterize the structural dynamics of these components, and develop an understanding of how these dynamics are regulated in order to direct mechanical processes during protein synthesis. It is within this context that our research group has developed a fully reconstituted, fluorescently labeled in vitro translation system and used it for single-molecule fluorescence imaging studies of protein synthesis. Together with ensemble biochemical investigations of protein synthesis by the ribosome and structural studies of functional ribosomal complexes, single-molecule fluorescence imaging of protein synthesis continues to provide unique and powerful mechanistic insights into this fundamental biological process. In this talk, I will present recent and ongoing work from our research group aimed at developing an ever-deeper understanding of the function of the ribosome during protein synthesis. In addition, I will discuss what we envision lies ahead as single-molecule fluorescence imaging approaches continue to evolve and expand to address increasingly complex mechanistic and regulatory aspects of this fundamental biological process.