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Crystalline arrays of ribosomes in isolated pea chloroplasts
Author(s) -
PRAEKELT UTA M.,
ROWE ARTHUR J.,
SMITH HARRY
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
plant, cell and environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.646
H-Index - 200
eISSN - 1365-3040
pISSN - 0140-7791
DOI - 10.1111/1365-3040.ep11588124
Subject(s) - ribosome , chloroplast , thylakoid , ribosomal rna , lysis , crystallinity , transmission electron microscopy , biophysics , biology , crystallography , chemistry , materials science , biochemistry , nanotechnology , rna , gene
Transmission electron microscopy of chloroplasts isolated by osmotic lysis of pea leaf protoplasts has revealed crystalline arrays of ribosomal particles associated with the thylakoid membranes. Optical diffraction techniques have established the crystallinity of the arrays and an image‐enhancement technique has given an indication of ribosomal macrostructure. A model of crystal‐packing is presented. This apparently artefactual induction of ribosome crystals should provide a valuable approach towards the elucidation of the details of the structure of chloroplast ribosomes.