The present invention provides methods for producing high resolution
crystals of ribosomes and ribosomal subunits as well as the crystals
produced by such methods. The x-ray diffraction patterns of the crystals
provided by the present invention are of sufficiently high resolution for
determining the three-dimensional structure of ribosomes and ribosomal
subunits, for identifying ligand binding sites on ribosomes and ribosomal
subunits, and for molecular modeling of ligands which interact with
ribosomes and ribosomal subunits. The present invention provides methods
for identifying ribosome-related ligands and methods for designing
ligands with specific ribosome-binding properties. Thus, the methods of
the present invention may be used to produce ligands which are designed
to kill or inhibit any specific target organism(s).