A Comparative Perspective on Ribosome Biogenesis: Unity and Diversity Across the Tree of Life

Abstract

Ribosomes are universally conserved ribonucleoprotein complexes involved in the decoding of the genetic information contained in messenger RNAs into proteins. Accordingly, ribosome biogenesis is a fundamental cellular process required for functional ribosome homeostasis and to preserve satisfactory gene expression capability. Although the ribosome is universally conserved, its biogenesis shows an intriguing degree of variability across the tree of life. These differences also raise yet unresolved questions. Among them are (a) what are, if existing, the remaining ancestral common principles of ribosome biogenesis; (b) what are the molecular impacts of the evolution history and how did they contribute to (re)shape the ribosome biogenesis pathway across the tree of life; (c) what is the extent of functional divergence and/or convergence (functional mimicry), and in the latter case (if existing) what is the molecular basis; (d) considering the universal ribosome conservation, what is the capability of functional plasticity and cellular adaptation of the ribosome biogenesis pathway? In this review, we provide a brief overview of ribosome biogenesis across the tree of life and try to illustrate some potential and/or emerging answers to these unresolved questions.