Accurate Structural Correlations from Maximum Likelihood Superpositions
Figure 3
PCA Plot of the 70S Ribosomal Subunit from Haloarcula marismortui
The second principal component is plotted for a superposition of 10 subunits of the large ribosomal subunit bound to different antibiotics. The subunit interface (which binds the small ribosomal subunit) is facing the viewer, with the 5S RNA at the top of the image. The large horizontal swath of “red” correlation co-localizes with the active site cleft that binds the mRNA, tRNAs, and translation factors. The first principal component (not shown) indicates a relatively simple, large-scale hinge-like motion in which the top third of the 70S subunit (in the orientation shown) is positively correlated with the bottom third.