The Mammalian Ribo-interactome Reveals Ribosome Functional Diversity and Heterogeneity. Cell Simsek, D., Tiu, G. C., Flynn, R. A., Byeon, G. W., Leppek, K., Xu, A. F., Chang, H. Y., Barna, M. 2017; 169 (6): 1051-1065 e18

Abstract

During eukaryotic evolution, ribosomes have considerably increased in size, forming a surface-exposed ribosomal RNA (rRNA) shell of unknown function, which may create an interface for yet uncharacterized interacting proteins. To investigate such protein interactions, we establish a ribosome affinity purification method that unexpectedly identifies hundreds of ribosome-associated proteins (RAPs) from categories including metabolism and cell cycle, as well as RNA- and protein-modifying enzymes that functionally diversify mammalian ribosomes. By further characterizing RAPs, we discover the presence of ufmylation, a metazoan-specific post-translational modification (PTM), on ribosomes and define its direct substrates. Moreover, we show that the metabolic enzyme, pyruvate kinase muscle (PKM), interacts with sub-pools of endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-associated ribosomes, exerting a non-canonical function as an RNA-binding protein in the translation of ER-destined mRNAs. Therefore, RAPs interconnect one of life's most ancient molecular machines with diverse cellular processes, providing an additional layer of regulatory potential to protein expression.

View details for DOI 10.1016/j.cell.2017.05.022

View details for PubMedID 28575669