The protein topography of the E. coli 30S ribosomal subunit: A preliminary model E. coli/30S subunit/ribosome/spatial arrangement of proteins

A three dimensional model is presented which shows the spatial arrangement of 20 of the 21 proteins of the 30S ribosomal subunit of Escherichia coli. The model fulfills several purposes: (a) It summarizes currently available structural and functional data on ribosomal proteins; (b) It suggests an interesting correlation between stoichiometry and function. Functional proteins are both clustered and fractional; (c) It can be evaluated in relation to new data, and it may predict relationships or point out critical experiments by which it can be tested.