Processes involved in protein translation

Protein translation—the process of converting genetic information into protein chains—is one of the oldest biological processes on planet Earth. Because of its age, all organisms, after the last universal common ancestor, use the same basic components—such as the transfer RNA (tRNA); aminoacyl-tRNA synthases; and the ribosome and its various elongation, initiation, and release factors—to carry out the translation process. It is the latter group, ribosomes and associated proteins, that physically make the peptide chains. In the following thesis, we will explore the assembly and function of two components and their role in the protein synthesis. The thesis has been divided into several chapters describing (1-2) the assembly of the small subunit of the ribosome (SSU), and (3) free energy change and the mechanism of elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu). The function and evolutionary history of both components are intertwined as the SSU is responsible for decoding information encoded in messenger RNA (mRNA) and EF-Tu is responsible for delivering amino acid building blocks to the ribosome