Investigating ribosome specialization during cellular differentiation

Ribosome synthesis and translation are fundamental processes that are tightly coupled to cell growth and proliferation. During differentiation of pluripotent stem cells, global translation is remodelled in a bespoke, lineage specific manner. One cog in the machinery that may mediate this process is the specialisation of ribosomes. Long thought of as being homogenous, there is mounting evidence indicating that the composition of ribosomes is not uniform. Indeed, heterogeneous ribosomes have been observed in different tissues, at different developmental stages and under stress conditions. Ribosome specialisation is a means by which gene expression can be regulated through the translation of specific subsets of mRNAs. We propose to expand our current understanding of ribosome specialization by investigating the synthesis of ribosomes in pluripotent stem cells and in different lineages following differentiation.