Deconstructing ribosome construction

The ribosome is an essential ribonucleoprotein enzyme, and its biogenesis is a fundamental process in all living cells. Recent X-ray crystal structures of the bacterial ribosome and new technologies have allowed a greater interrogation of in vitro ribosome assembly; however, substantially less is known about ribosome biogenesis in vivo. Ongoing investigations are focused on elucidating the cellular processes that facilitate biogenesis of the ribosomal subunits, and many extraribosomal factors, including modification enzymes, remodeling enzymes and GTPases, are being uncovered. Moreover, specific roles for ribosome biogenesis factors in subunit maturation are now being elaborated. Ultimately, such studies will reveal a more complete understanding of processes at work in in vivo ribosome biogenesis.