Assembly and functionality of the ribosome with tethered subunits

Ribo-T is an engineered ribosome whose small and large subunits are tethered together by linking 16S rRNA and 23S rRNA in a single molecule. Although Ribo-T can support cell proliferation in the absence of wild type ribosomes, Ribo-T cells grow slower than those with wild type ribosomes. Here, we show that cell growth defect is likely explained primarily by slow Ribo-T assembly rather than its imperfect functionality. Ribo-T maturation is...