High-fidelity mass analysis unveils heterogeneity in intact ribosomal particles.

van de Waterbeemd, Michiel; Fort, Kyle L; Boll, Dmitriy; Reinhardt-Szyba, Maria; Routh, Andrew; Makarov, Alexander; Heck, Albert J R · Nat Methods · 2017

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Investigation of the structure, assembly and function of protein-nucleic acid macromolecular machines requires multidimensional molecular and structural biology approaches. We describe modifications to an Orbitrap mass spectrometer, enabling high-resolution native MS analysis of 0.8- to 2.3-MDa prokaryotic 30S, 50S and 70S ribosome particles and the 9-MDa Flock House virus. The instrument's improved mass range and sensitivity readily exposes unexpected binding of the ribosome-associated protein SRA.

Medical subject headings