Ribosome-associated ncRNAs: an emerging class of translation regulators

Accumulating recent evidence identified the ribosome as binding target for numerous small and long non-protein-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) in various organisms of all 3 domains of life. Therefore it appears that ribosome-associated ncRNAs (rancRNAs) are a prevalent, yet poorly understood class of cellular transcripts. Since rancRNAs are associated with the arguable most central enzyme of the cell it seems plausible to propose a role in translation control. Indeed first experimental evidence on small rancRNAs has been presented, linking ribosome association with fine-tuning the rate of protein biosynthesis in a stress-dependent manner.