The ribosome has long been thought to be a homogeneous cellular machine that constitutively and globally synthesises proteins from mRNA. However, recent studies have revealed that ribosomes are highly heterogeneous, dynamic macromolecular complexes with specialised roles in translational regulation in many organisms across the kingdoms. In this review, we summarise the current understanding of ribosome heterogeneity and the specialised functions of heterogeneous ribosomes. We also discuss specialised translation systems that utilise orthogonal ribosomes.
Keywords: Specialised ribosome; divergent rRNA; orthogonal ribosome; post-translational modification; ribosomal protein; ribosome heterogeneity.