Identification and characterization of novel quality control factors acting in a co-translational manner
At the critical junction of translation and protein folding, the ribosome serves as a central hub, orchestrating the actions of various factors that facilitate the maturation of emerging polypeptide-chains. However, ribosome associated quality control mechanisms, safeguarding the cell from early misfolding, remain largely obscure. Here we identify and characterize specific degradation and sequestration factors, acting on the ribosome, when co-translational protein complex assembly interactions are perturbed. Combing ribosome profiling and ribosome-targeted proteomics approaches, we discover a novel quality-control pathway for complex subunits that fail to assemble into functional complexes.