Index >> Bacterial Structure >> Lake's Asymmetrical Model of Ribosome Structure

Lake's Asymmetrical Model of Ribosome Structure - In Lake's model the 308 subunit is considered to be completely asymmetrical. An indentation divides the subunit into two unequal parts, referred to as the upper one-third (head) and the lower two-third (body).

Extending from the lower two-third is a region called-the platform. There is a cleft between the platform and the upper one third.

This cleft is an important functional region. It has been proposed as the site of the codon-anticodon interaction and as a part of the binding site for initiation factors IF-I, IF-2 and IF-3.

The 30S subunit in lake's model differs from that of Stoffler and Wittmann's model in that it is completely asymmetrical, and does not contain a mirror plane.