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. This gene encodes a ribosomal protein that is a component of the 60S subunit. The protein, which is the functional equivalent of the E. coli L10 ribosomal protein, belongs to the L10P family of ribosomal proteins. It is a neutral phosphoprotein with a C-terminal end that is nearly identical to the C-terminal ends of the acidic ribosomal phosphoproteins P1 and P2. The P0 protein can interact with P1 and P2 to form a pentameric complex consisting of P1 and P2 dimers, and a P0 monomer. The protein is located in the cytoplasm. Transcript variants derived from alternative splicing exist, they encode the same protein. As is typical for genes encoding ribosomal proteins, there are multiple processed pseudogenes of this gene dispersed through the genome. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]
