Abstract

Electrical conductivity and dielectric dispersions have been measured on suspensions of 30S, 50S subunits and 70S ribosomal particles from E. coli, in the presence and absence of magnesium ions. Conductivity measurements show a net contribution due to the disperzed phase. Ribosomal particles act in general as obstructants to the ionic motions in the solution, but besides this effect, there is an intrinsic contribution to the overall conductivity which is more pronounced in the absence than in the presence of magnesium ions. This effect suggests the existence of an interfacial conductivity, modulated by bound magnesium ions. The intrinsic conductivity is higher in the 30S subunit than in the 50S. Dielectric dispersions show a consistent difference between 30S and 50S, indicating that the exposure of ribosomal RNA should be greater in the 30S than in the 50S. Structural information is derived from the conductivity measurement, via the Looyenga equation.

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