Building a case for ‘functional identity fraud’ in eRpL22 paralogue-specific ribosomes in Drosophila germline development

TL;DR

This paper explores how different ribosomal proteins in fruit fly sperm development create specialized ribosomes with unique functions.

Contribution

It presents evidence for paralogue-specific ribosome functions in Drosophila germline development.

Findings

eRpL22 and eRpL22-like paralogues co-express in the same cell, contributing to ribosome diversity.

Specialized ribosomes show differential translation specificities based on paralogue content.

The role of eRpL22 family paralogues in ribosome-mediated translation regulation remains poorly understood.

Abstract

Investigations of expression and function of eukaryotic-specific ribosomal protein paralogues, eRpL22 and eRpL22-like, within the Drosophila melanogaster male germline offer valuable insights supporting an emerging paradigm shift that ribosomes are now exempt from the traditional view of being homogeneous protein synthesis machines. Co-expression of these paralogues within the same cell contributes to structural and functional complexity—the latter demonstrated by differential translation specificities based on paralogue content. This commentary highlights some of the key findings related to the biology of specialized ribosomes containing paralogue eRpL22 or eRpL22-like in Drosophila spermatogenesis and raises several unresolved questions about eRpL22 family paralogue function and ribosome-mediated translation regulation within spermatogenesis. Our understanding of principles that govern specialized ribosome function is in nascent stages, and considerably more research is warranted to address the myriad of unresolved questions about specialized ribosomes and the impact on reproductive physiology.

This article is part of the discussion meeting issue ‘Ribosome diversity and its impact on protein synthesis, development and disease’.

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