VOLUME 13, NUMBER 02 • OCTOBER 5, 2001

Yonath to present Stein Memorial Lecture on Oct. 12

Ada Yonath, of the Weizmann Institute and Max Planck Institute for Ribosomal Structure, will present the William H. Stein Memorial Lecture on Fri., Oct. 12. Her topic will be "Antibiotics Trageting Ribosomes.";

A pioneer of ribosome crystallography, Ada Yonath has made crucial insights about protein biosynthesis. Her recent work has revealed a novel task for the flexible regions of the ribosomal RNA and proteins-the creation of the interacting bridges between the two ribosomal subunits within the assembled ribosome.

These insights are possible in large part due to Yonath's structural research. This year she has determined the high-resolution structures of the two ribosomal subunits from eubacteria. The structure of the small subunit and of its complexes with initiator factor 3 and an antibiotic agent that targets the initiation step (edeine), revealed the universal nature of the initiation of protein biosynthesis-the step that governs the selection of the correct frame to be translated.

Yonath's group's structures provide a powerful tool for comparative studies between bound and free ribosomal subunits, revealing the principles of the creation of subunit bridges, the binding and placement of tRNA and the movement of the L1-arm to create the exit-gate of the E-site tRNA.

All clinically relevant antibiotics are targeted against eubacterial pathogens. In a very short time, Yonath's group has determined the structures of almost a dozen different complexes with antibiotics that target the large ribosomal subunit. As most antibiotics interact with the peptidyl transferase center or hamper the path of the nascent protein chains, this new work illuminates aspects of the catalytic activity of the ribosome.

Born in Jerusalem, Yonath obtained B.Sc and M.Sc. degrees at the Hebrew University, and her Ph.D. at the Weizmann Institute, Israel. After postdoctoral studies at Carnegie-Mellon and MIT, she returned to the Weizmann Institute and initiated the only protein crystallography laboratory in the entire region.

Recently, she was elected as a member of the Israeli Academy for Science and Humanity. She leads two research groups, one at the Max Planck Unit in Hamburg, Germany, and the other at the Weizmann Institute, where she directs two scientific centers.

Yonath's talk begins at 3:45 in Caspary Auditorium and is preceded by a tea in Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Lounge. All are welcome.