Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/R78671/01
Title:	NOVEL LASER OPTIICAL PROCEDURE TO MEASURE EUKARYOTIC RIBOSOME DYNAMICS
Principal Investigator:	McCarthy, Professor JEG
Other Investigators:	Goddard, Professor N
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department:	Life Sciences
Organisation:	University of Manchester, The
Scheme:	Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	01 September 2002	Ends:	31 October 2005	Value (£):	447,170
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Genomics
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
Ribosomes are effectively molecular machines that generate proteins by reading the information encoded in messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules. eukaryotic cells, the ribosomes generally do not bind directly to the AUG start codon, but interact initially with the 5' end of the mRNA or with an interr ribosome entry site (IRES). After binding at one of these sites, the 40S ribosomal subunit scans 5' -> 3' along the mRNA seeking the site for initiate of polypeptide synthesis. The scanning process has remained a mystery for more than two decades. The proposed project will provide a means characterising the dynamics of the scanning ribosome at the molecular level, thus allowing us to solve some of the most challenging questions protein synthesis. The procedure that we will develop involves the use of an evanescent waveguide to track the position and orientation of fluorescently labelled 40S ribosomal subunit in real time with a resolution <50nm. The rate and distance of movement of the scanning 40S ribosorr subunits will be followed as a function of the availability of factors required for eukaryotic translation, providing us with unique insight into the molecul mechanism underlying this process. The technology developed and applied in this project will find application to a wide range of other processive (and possibly non-processive) reactions in biology.
Key Findings
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Organisation Website:	http://www.man.ac.uk