InterPro domain: IPR034643

uS7, also known as ribosomal protein S7 (RPS7) is a key component of the small ribosomal subunit in the mitochondrion. This family includes RPS7 from Viridiplantae.

The ribosome small subunit is one of the two subunits of ribosome organelles that use mRNA as a template for protein synthesis in a process called translation. The small subunits of bacteria and eukaryotes have the same shape of head, body, platform, beak, and shoulder. RPS7 is located at the head of the small subunit. RPS7 is a primary ribosomal RNA (rRNA) binding protein that assists in rRNA folding and the binding of other proteins during small subunit assembly in all species. RPS7 is also involved in the formation of the mRNA exit channel at the interface of the large and small subunits [ 1 , 2 ]. Some ribosomal proteins have extra ribosomal functions in cell differentiation and apoptosis [ 3 , 4 ].

1. Matching the crystallographic structure of ribosomal protein S7 to a three-dimensional model of the 16S ribosomal RNA. RNA 4, 542-50
2. Ribosomal protein S7: a new RNA-binding motif with structural similarities to a DNA architectural factor. Structure 5, 1199-208
3. Ribosomal proteins: structure, function, and evolution. Biochemistry Mosc. 77, 562-74
4. Structure and function of the eukaryotic ribosome: the next frontier. Cell 109, 153-6