The GTPase switch in ribosomal translocation

Abstract

Information from careful measurements of the affinity of ribosome-associated proteins for GTP and GDP, and from structural analyses, suggests that elongation factor-G must assume three different structures during protein synthesis and that the ribosome itself acts as a guanine-nucleotide exchange factor. Is it time to re-write the textbook description of translation? © 2005 BioMed Central Ltd.