Location of tRNA on the ribosome

Electron microscopy results of Lake [J. Mol. Biol. (1976) 105, 131-159] and Vasiliev et al. [FEBS Lett. (1983) 155, 167-172] suggest that the 70 S ribosome has an open pocket or a cavity at the base of the L7/L12 stalk of the 50 S subunit, on the side of the 30 S subunit opposite to its bulge or platform. It is this pocket that is proposed here to be the site for binding and retention of two L-shaped tRNA molecules on the ribosome. The model proposed is consistent with the facts about interactions of the protein L7/L12 with the elongation factors (EF-Tu and EF-G) involved in tRNA binding and translocation, as well as with the data available on the participation of proteins S3, S5, S10, S14 and S19 in the formation of tRNA sites.