Timing Events Provide Insight to the Evolutionary History of the Ribosome

NASA Center Special Seminar

The modern ribosome was largely formed at the time of the last common ancestor, LUCA. Hence its earliest origins likely lie in the RNA world that preceded LUCA. In order to understand pre-LUCA developments, it is argued that events that are coupled in time are especially useful if one can infer a likely order in which they occurred. Thus, the molecular mimicry between EF-G and the ternary complex suggests that EF-Tu preceded EF-G. Using such timing events, the relative age of various proteins and individual regions within the large rRNA are inferred. These results allow the construction of a timeline for the major events that occurred during the evolution of the ribosome.

For more information contact Prof. Loren Williams (404-894-9752).