As a molecular machine found in the cells of all organisms, the ribosome is responsible for making new proteins. It reads the blueprint for a certain protein on a messenger molecule—known as messenger RNA (mRNA)—and then converts this information into new proteins. For a number of reasons, this process can fail, leaving the ribosome stalled on the mRNA and bringing synthesis of the protein to a halt. An international research team led by scientists from the Center for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University (ZMBH) has now identified a bacterial protein called MutS2 that senses and rescues these stuck protein factories. The fact that the next ribosome on the mRNA chain collides with the stalled ribosome plays a key role.
