Ribosome customization and functional diversification among P-stalk proteins regulate late poxvirus protein synthesis
Khalatyan et al. show that poxvirus protein synthesis becomes dependent on 40S and 60S subunit proteins that are normally dispensable for most cellular mRNAs. RACK1 facilitates ribosome customization through alterations in the 40S head swivel, while non-canonical late viral mRNA translation becomes more dependent on RPLP2, a subunit of the enigmatic P-stalk.