Two-dimensional crystalline sheets of Bacillus stearothermophilus 50S ribosomal particles.

Abstract
Two‐dimensional crystalline sheets of the large ribosomal subunit from Bacillus stearothermophilus have been obtained using a slightly modified procedure to that for growing three‐dimensional crystals of the same material. The crystalline subunits are packed within monolayers in a relatively small unit cell, the dimensions of which are closely related to those observed for two forms of the three‐dimensional crystals. The packing symmetry is p121, and the optical diffraction patterns of micrographs of negatively stained crystals extend to approximately 3.0 nm.