Network theory of the bacterial ribosome

In the past two decades, research into the biochemical, biophysical and structural properties of the ribosome have revealed many different steps of protein translation. Nevertheless, a complete understanding of how they lead to a rapid and accurate protein synthesis still remains a challenge. Here we consider a coarse network analysis in the bacterial ribosome formed by the connectivity between ribosomal (r) proteins and RNAs at different stages in the elongation cycle. The ribosomal networks are found to be dis-assortative and small world, implying that the structure allows for an efficient exchange of information between distant locations. An analysis of centrality shows that the second and fifth domains of 23S rRNA are the most important elements in all of the networks. Ribosomal protein hubs connect to much fewer nodes but are shown to provide important connectivity within the network (high closeness centrality). A modularity analysis reveals some of the different functional communities, indicating some known and some new possible communication pathways Our mathematical results confirm important communication pathways that have been discussed in previous research, thus verifying the use of this technique for representing the ribosome, and also reveal new insights into the collective function of ribosomal elements.