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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Mar 26.
Published in final edited form as: Chem Rev. 2014 Jan 9;114(6):3266–3280. doi: 10.1021/cr400313x

Figure 7. The ribosome as a helicase.

Figure 7

Two mRNAs with identical sequences coding for valine are translated; they differ in the base composition of the double strand that the ribosome must unwind during translation. The rate of translation of each hairpin is measured as a function of force on the ends of the hairpins. At low force the ribosome is unwinding double strands (translation rate = Vds) at a critical force, Fc, the double-stranded helix becomes single-stranded and the rate of translation corresponds to a single strand, (Vss). The solid lines are a fit to Eq. 15. The figure is a modified form of Figure 2 from Reference 99. (Adapted with permission from ref. 99. Copyright 2011 Nature Publishing Group)