Other Factors for Ribosome Heterogeneity

For a long time, it was believed that the biochemical composition and function of all ribosomes in cells were fixed. However, recent studies have found that ribosomes are variable in both composition and function, that is, ribosomal heterogeneity. However, the biochemical basis of heterogeneous ribosomes and the molecular mechanisms underlying their functional differences remain to be explored. As a reputable ribosome service provider, Creative Biolabs is committed to providing customers with comprehensive ribosome analysis services, especially ribosome profiling, to help you advance your ribosome heterogeneity projects.

Overview of Ribosomal Heterogeneity

Ribosomes are complex macromolecular assemblies that are the central site of translation in cells. Recent studies have shown that ribosome heterogeneity is closely related to the control of selective mRNA subsets. The ribosome consists of two main components, the small ribosomal subunit, and the large subunit. Each subunit contains a specific composition of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and ribosomal proteins (RPs). Abnormalities in these components and their assemblies are closely related to ribosome heterogeneity.

General Factors of Ribosomal Heterogeneity

Studies over the past few decades have demonstrated that ribosomes are heterogeneous macromolecular complexes that play an important role in the translation process. Ribosomes comprise RPs and rRNA. Any differences in these components could lead to the phenomenon of ribosomal heterogeneity. Ribosomal heterogeneity includes rRNA variants and modifications, aberrations of specific RPs in ribosomal structure, the presence of RP paralogs, rRNA or RPs modifications, and possibly other variations in the ribosome-associated proteome. While there is evidence that ribosomes have distinct components, the actual extent of ribosomal heterogeneity remains largely unknown.

Fig. 1 Sequence and structural divergence.¹

Heterogeneity of Ribosome-associated Proteins (RAPs)

In addition to the composition of rRNA and canonical core RP, heterogeneous ribosomes may also arise from other factors bound to the ribosome surface. Ribosomes have hundreds of RAPs, which greatly increase the size and complexity of the ribosome and further promote ribosome heterogeneity and expand its regulatory capacity. These intriguing findings suggest that RAPs may affect the structure and function of associated ribosomes and regulate translation processes, suggesting that spatial regulation of ribosomes causes another layer of ribosomal heterogeneity. Apart from these factors, cellular localization of ribosomes and higher-order ribosomal structure may also contribute to ribosome heterogeneity.

Techniques in Ribosomal Heterogeneity

Although probing ribosomal heterogeneity is a long and complex process, the advent of new technologies has facilitated this research. These techniques fill the knowledge gap between the transcriptome and the role proteome. Ribosome profiling methods support claims of ribosome specialization by monitoring actively translated mRNA. Essentially, ribosome profiling provides new insight into the translated transcriptome.

For heterogeneous ribosomes, many questions remain for future studies to gain a comprehensive understanding of ribosome function. Creative Biolabs has established an advanced platform to provide ribosomal heterogeneity analysis services to clients all over the world. If you encounter any difficulties in the analysis of ribosomes and related factors in the project, please contact us for help.

Reference

1. Poitevin, Frédéric, et al. "Structural heterogeneities of the ribosome: new frontiers and opportunities for cryo-EM." Molecules 25.18 (2020): 4262.