Yeast ribosomal protein L41 is dispensable in the yeast. Its absence had no effect on polyphenylalanine synthesis activity, and a limited effect on growth, translational accuracy, or the resistance toward the antibiotic paromomycin. Removal of L41 did not affect the 60:40 S ratio, but it reduced the amount of 80 S, suggesting that L41 is involved in ribosomal subunit association. However, the two most important effects of L41 were on peptidyltransferase activity and translocation. Peptidyltransferase activity was measured as a secondorder rate constant (k cat /K s ) corresponding to the rate of peptide bond formation; this k cat /K s was lowered 3-fold to 1.15 min ؊1 mM ؊1 in the L41 mutant compared with 3.46 min ؊1 mM ؊1 in the wild type. Translocation was also affected by L41. Elongation factor 2 (EF2)-dependent (enzymatic) translocation of Ac-Phe-tRNA from the A-to P-site was more efficient in the absence of L41, because 50% translocation was achieved at only 0.004 M EF2 compared with 0.02 M for the wild type. Furthermore, the EF2-dependent translocation was inhibited by 50% at 2.5 M of the translocation inhibitor cycloheximide in the L41 mutant compared with 1.2 M in the wild type. Finally, the rate of EF2-independent (spontaneous) translocation was increased in the absence of L41.The ribosome is a large macromolecular machine that consists of a large number of proteins and several molecules of ribosomal RNA (rRNA). The ribosome is responsible for the translation of the genetic message, which results in protein synthesis.The crystal structures of the 30 S (1, 2) and 50 S (3, 4) ribosomal subunits, and the intact 70 S ribosome (5) are contributing to a better understanding of ribosomal function. It has now been confirmed that rRNA plays the major role in ribosomal structure and function, including the two most important activities of the ribosome: the decoding process and the peptidyltransferase activity. The 16 S rRNA of the small ribosomal subunit is responsible for the decoding process, the selection of the cognate tRNA (6). The central loop of domain V of 23 S rRNA of the large ribosomal subunit is responsible for the catalytic activity of the ribosome (7, 8). The search is still underway to identify a critical site or nucleotide(s) of 23 S rRNA involved in the catalysis of peptide bond formation (9 -13). It is still possible that the rate of peptide bond formation is influenced by structural rearrangements of RNA in the peptidyltransferase center that would affect the positioning of the substrates (14).Ribosomal proteins offer structural support to the ribosome by stabilizing and orienting the ribosomal RNA into a specific, active structure (15). Also, they are crucial for the assembly of functional ribosomes (16). Several ribosomal proteins of the small subunit (17-20) and at least one of the large subunit (21) appear to affect the decoding process. Moreover, some ribosomal proteins appear to influence the peptidyltransferase activity of the ribosome (22-24).Yeast ribosomal protein L41 is the smallest a...