A new study reveals that the conserved ribosomal protein Rps29/uS14 links ribosome biogenesis with cellular stress adaptation. The results of this study, performed by Ulrike Topf’s team in collaboration with Rafał Tomecki at IBB PAS, were published in Nucleic Acids Research.

The work describes that depletion of Rps29 disrupts the final cytoplasmic step of 18S rRNA maturation, leading to the retention of late processing factors on immature ribosomal particles. Interestingly, despite these maturation defects, cells with reduced Rps29 levels showed an enhanced adaptation to osmotic stress, suggesting that Rps29 abundance fine-tunes the balance between ribosome assembly and stress response pathways.

These findings highlight a connection between ribosome biogenesis quality control and environmental stress adaptation, providing new insights into how cells coordinate growth and survival.

Read the full article in Nucleic Acids Research: https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkaf807