Ribosomal Protein L12 (RPL12)

Ribosomes, the organelles that catalyze protein synthesis, consist of a small 40S subunit and a large 60S subunit. Together these subunits are composed of 4 RNA species and approximately 80 structurally distinct proteins. RPL12 encodes a ribosomal protein that is a component of the 60S subunit. The protein belongs to the L11P family of ribosomal proteins. It is located in the cytoplasm. The protein binds directly to the 26S rRNA. This gene is co-transcribed with the U65 snoRNA, which is located in its fourth intron. As is typical for genes encoding ribosomal proteins, there are multiple processed pseudogenes of this gene dispersed through the genome. The protein contains 165 amino acids and exhibits 99.4% sequence identity with rat ribosomal protein L12. Northern blot analysis detected an mRNA transcript of 800 bases.