VISUALIZATION OF ESCHERICHIA-COLI RIBOSOMAL-RNA IN-SITU BY ELECTRON SPECTROSCOPIC IMAGING AND IMAGE-ANALYSIS

A quantitative analysis of large populations of images of the large and small E. coli ribosomal subunits has been performed to construct two-dimensional maps of the phosphorus distribution within these complexes lying in their characteristic crown and right-lateral orientations, respectively. These elemental maps were interpreted to represent primarily the backbone of the nucleic acid component, and showed congruence to low resolution with current models of ribosomal RNA structure based on biochemical data. Considerations of computerised analysis of electron spectroscopic images of isolated particles suggest a need for new alignment algorithms not based solely on correlation functions.