Structure of the large ribosomal subunit from human mitochondria

Abstract

Making mitochondrial hydrophobic proteins Mitochondria produce chemical energy for the cell. Human mitochondria have their own specific ribosomes—mitoribosomes, which are distinct from cytoplasmic ribosomes. Mitoribosomes synthesize the mitochondrial membrane proteins that generate the chemical energy. Brown et al. used cryo–electron microscopy to determine the high-resolution structure of the large subunit of the human mitoribosome. The mitoribosome has a number of unique features, including an exit tunnel lined with hydrophobic amino acid residues. Science , this issue p. 718