Ribosome origami

Ribosome assembly coming into focus

In the past 25 years, genetic and biochemical analyses of ribosome assembly in yeast have identified most of the factors that participate in this complex pathway and have generated models for the mechanisms driving the assembly. More recently, the publication of numerous cryo-electron microscopy structures of yeast ribosome assembly intermediates has provided near-atomic resolution snapshots of ribosome precursor particles. Satisfyingly, these structural data support the genetic and biochemical models and provide additional mechanistic insight into ribosome assembly. In this Review, we discuss the mechanisms of assembly of the yeast small ribosomal subunit and large ribosomal subunit in the nucleolus, nucleus and cytoplasm. Particular emphasis is placed on concepts such as the mechanisms of RNA compaction, the functions of molecular switches and molecular mimicry, the irreversibility of assembly checkpoints and the roles of structural and functional proofreading of pre-ribosomal particles.

Citrus exocortis viroid causes ribosomal stress in tomato plants

Viroids are naked RNAs that do not code for any known protein and yet are able to infect plants causing severe diseases. Because of their RNA nature, many studies have focused on the involvement of viroids in RNA-mediated gene silencing as being their pathogenesis mechanism. Here, the alterations caused by the Citrus exocortis viroid (CEVd) on the tomato translation machinery were studied as a new aspect of viroid pathogenesis. The presence of viroids in the ribosomal fractions of infected tomato plants was detected. More precisely, CEVd and its derived viroid small RNAs were found to co-sediment with tomato ribosomes in vivo, and to provoke changes in the global polysome profiles, particularly in the 40S ribosomal subunit accumulation. Additionally, the viroid caused alterations in ribosome biogenesis in the infected tomato plants, affecting the 18S rRNA maturation process. A higher expression level of the ribosomal stress mediator NAC082 was also detected in the CEVd-infected tomato leaves. Both the alterations in the rRNA processing and the induction of NAC082 correlate with the degree of viroid symptomatology. Taken together, these results suggest that CEVd is responsible for defective ribosome biogenesis in tomato, thereby interfering with the translation machinery and, therefore, causing ribosomal stress.