Group History

Research into the crystallization of the ribosome and ribosomal subunits has an extensive history at the Max-Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics (MPI-MG) in Berlin. The first ever ribosome crystals were produced here in the early 1980s under the director ship of Prof. Wittmann.
Despite the change in directorship at the MPI-MG in the 1990s and the accompanied change in the overall research focus of the institute to proteomics and structural genomics, the ribosome crystallography group has continued its activity until today. First under the guidance of Dr. Francois Franceschi, who departed in 2002 and since then under the direction of Dr. Paola Fucini, with invaluable assistance from Research Scientists Dr. Frank Schluenzen, Dr. Daniel Wilson and Dr. Joerg M. Harms .

The principal aim of the ribosome crystallography group has been for more than 20 years the development of suitable techniques for the crystallization of ribosomal particles. The steady advancement of this powerful knowledge, initially started to reap its reward three years ago, under the leadership of Dr. Francois Franceschi, with the breath-taking atomic structures of the small ribosomal subunit from Thermus thermophilus and large ribosomal subunit from Deinococcus radiodurans.

Both structures, resulting from ribosomes and crystals prepared in the group of Berlin, were solved in collaboration with the group of Prof. Ada Yonath, at the MPG für strukturelle Molekularbiologie in Hamburg and Weizmann Institute in Israel. In addition to the collaborative Berlin-Hamburg unit, only three other groups worldwide have made such major contributions to ribosome studies using the same crystallographic approach.

Atomic structures of the ribosomal subunits have been a revolutionary milestone in our understanding of the translational apparatus, initiating a new era in comprehension of the key activities associated with each ribosomal subunit: the decoding process, peptide-bond formation and factor-mediated translation regulation.

In this respect, the crystallography group of Berlin, has mainly concentrated its research activity on the mode of binding and action of various antibiotics; from those targeting the large subunit, such as the clinically relevant macrolides, as well as puromycins and sparsomycins; to those that bind the small subunit, such as aminoglycosides, tetracyclines, and edeine .

The results obtained have shed light on the mechanism of action of these drugs and because of their importance in the pharmaceutical field have resulted in at least one patent, stipulated with the help of Garching Innovation and YEDA (the corresponding Institution for Ada Yonath’s group in Israel).

In addition to continuing the antibiotic studies in collaboration with Prof. Yonath, a number of new projects were undertaken. These studies are multi-disciplinary and focus on characterization of ribosome functional complexes using X-ray crystallography, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Mass spectrometry and cryo-electron microscopy techniques.

The studies are made possible by the stimulating environment and advanced technical equipment available in the institute. Whenever possible, these projects are undertaken in collaboration with the appropriate expert groups, within or separate from the institute, increasing the success and speed of project completion. A more specific description of the studies that are in process in the group, and the predicted impact that they will have for the scientific community at large, is reported under projects.

Links to some 'historic' pages: