One common way to isolate ribosomes produced in vivo is by installing an MS2 affinity tag in the 16S or 23S ribosomal RNA. RNA tags in the 23S rRNA are typically installed into an extended helix 98, as this has no discernible effect on growth or in vitro ribosome activity. In this manuscript, the authors report that insertion of the MS2 tag into helix 98 destabilizes ribosomes by disrupting important tertiary contacts. The authors report an improved design for the MS2 tag that restores ribosome stability.
Read the paper: https://rnajournal.cshlp.org/content/29/10/1500.long