Structure and functions of 5S rRNA

The ribosome is a macromolecular assembly that is responsible for protein b iosynthesis in all organisms. It is composed of two-subunit, ribonucleoprot ein particles that translate the genetic material into an encoded polypepti des. The small subunit is the site of codon-anticodon interaction between t he messenger RNA (mRNA) and transfer RNA (tRNA) substrates, and the large s ubunit catalyses peptide bond formation. The peptidyltransferase activity i s fulfilled by 23S rRNA, which means that ribosome is a ribozyme. 5S rRNA i s a conserved component of the large ribosomal subunit that is thought to e nhance protein synthesis by stabilizing ribosome structure. This paper shor tly summarises new results obtained on the structure and function of 5S rRN A.