Structurally heterogeneous ribosomes cooperate in protein synthesis in bacterial cells.

ABSTRACT: Ribosome heterogeneity is a paradigm in biology, pertaining to the existence of structurally distinct populations of ribosomes within a single organism or cell. This concept suggests that structurally distinct pools of ribosomes have different functional properties and may be used to translate specific mRNAs. However, it is unknown to what extent structural heterogeneity reflects genuine functional specialization rather than stochastic variations in ribosome assembly. Here, we address this question by combining cryo-electron microscopy and tomography to observe individual structurally heterogeneous ribosomes in bacterial cells. We show that 70% of ribosomes in Psychrobacter urativorans contain a second copy of the ribosomal protein bS20 at a previously unknown binding site on the large rib

SUBMITTER: Helena-Bueno K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11926189 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature