This is a conceptual illustration of our study. Ribosome biogenesis (depicted as building a house) has long been thought to require several essential factors (a saw, hammer, and wrench). However, CPR bacteria were found to lack these factors in various combinations.

Our paper is out! Analysis of 30K+ genomes revealed that CPR bacteria assemble their ribosomes in unconventional ways, and that these assembly processes appear to have co-evolved with ribosome structure. doi.org/10.1093/molb... #Ribosome #Evolution #Patescibacteria #MBE