Scientists visualise the final touch to ribosome maturation

Dividing cells are in constant need of ribosomes, the molecular machines that help them produce proteins. The steps of ribosome building and maturation have been under investigation for decades, yet the final stages have remained unclear. Scientists at the IMP have visualised one of the last steps to making a fully functional ribosome in yeast: how the enzyme Drg1 releases a molecular ‘bodyguard’ immediately after exiting the nucleus. They now report their findings in the journal Nature Structural and Molecular Biology.