Cryo-EM density maps showing the 70S ribosome of E. coli in two different functional states related by a ratchet-like motion were analyzed using real-space refinement. Comparison of the two resulting atomic models shows that the ribosome changes from a compact structure to a looser one, coupled with the rearrangement of many of the proteins. Furthermore, in contrast to the unchanged inter-subunit bridges formed wholly by RNA, the bridges involving proteins undergo large conformational changes following the ratchet-like motion, suggesting an important role of ribosomal proteins in facilitating the dynamics of translation.

The 440-amino acid Mtu recA intein consists of independent protein-splicing and endonuclease domains. Previously, removal of the central endonuclease domain of the intein, and selection for function, generated a 168-residue mini-intein, ΔI-SM, that had splicing activity similar to that of the full-length, wild-type protein. A D422G mutation (ΔI-CM) increased C-terminal cleavage activity. Using the I-SM mini-intein structure (presented here) as a guide, we previously generated a highly active 139-residue mini-intein, ΔΔI hh -SM, by replacing 36 amino acids in the residual endonuclease loop with a seven-residue β-turn from the autoprocessing domain of Hedgehog protein. The threedimensional structures of ΔI-SM, ΔΔI hh -SM, and two variants, ΔΔI hh -CM and ΔΔI hh , have been determined to evaluate the effects of the minimization on intein integrity and to investigate the structural and functional consequences of the D422G mutation. These structural studies show that Asp422 is capable of interacting with both the N-and C-termini. These interactions are lacking in the CM variant, but are replaced by contacts with water molecules. Accordingly, additional mutagenesis of residue 422, combined with mutations that isolate N-terminal and C-terminal cleavage, showed that the side chain of Asp422 plays a role in both N-and C-terminal cleavage, thereby suggesting that this highly-conserved residue regulates the balance between the two reactions.

I-TevI, a member of the GIY-YIG family of homing endonucleases, consists of an N-terminal catalytic domain and a C-terminal DNA-binding domain joined by a flexible linker. The GIY-YIG motif is in the N-terminal domain of I-TevI, which corresponds to a phylogenetically widespread catalytic cartridge that is often associated with mobile genetic elements. The crystal structure of the catalytic domain of I-TevI, the first of any GIY-YIG endonuclease, reveals a novel alpha/beta-fold with a central three-stranded antiparallel beta-sheet flanked by three helices. The most conserved and putative catalytic residues are located on a shallow, concave surface and include a metal coordination site. Similarities in the three-dimensional arrangement of the catalytically important residues and the cation-binding site with those of the His-Cys box endonuclease I-PpoI suggest the possibility of mechanistic relationships among these different families of homing endonucleases despite completely different folds.