Genetic code expansion to incorporate non-α-amino acid monomers is limited by predictability of monomer reactivities in the context of the ribosome. Now the use of metadynamics simulations of pre-attack monomers in the ribosomal peptidyl transferase centre provides insight on whether an A-site monomer is likely to be reactive.
Atomistic simulations of the Escherichia coli ribosome provide selection criteria for translationally active substrates