This family contains the large 60S ribosomal L5 proteins from Eukaryota and the 50S L18 proteins from Archaea. It has been shown that the amino terminal 93 amino acids of Swiss:P09895 are necessary and sufficient to bind 5S rRNA in vitro [1], suggesting that the entire family has a function in rRNA binding [2,3,4,5].

1: Distinct domains in ribosomal protein L5 mediate 5 S rRNA binding and nucleolar localization. Michael WM, Dreyfuss G; J Biol Chem 1996;271:11571-11574. PMID:8626719

2: 5S rRNA binding proteins from the hyperthermophilic archaeon, Pyrococcus furiosus. Furumoto H, Taguchi A, Itoh T, Morinaga T, Itoh T; FEBS Lett. 2000;486:195-199. PMID:11119702

3: The organization of cytoplasmic ribosomal protein genes in the Arabidopsis genome. Barakat A, Szick-Miranda K, Chang IF, Guyot R, Blanc G, Cooke R, Delseny M, Bailey-Serres J; Plant Physiol. 2001;127:398-415. PMID:11598216

4: Synchronizing nuclear import of ribosomal proteins with ribosome assembly. Kressler D, Bange G, Ogawa Y, Stjepanovic G, Bradatsch B, Pratte D, Amlacher S, Strauss D, Yoneda Y, Katahira J, Sinning I, Hurt E; Science. 2012;338:666-671. PMID:23118189

5: Structures of the human and Drosophila 80S ribosome. Anger AM, Armache JP, Berninghausen O, Habeck M, Subklewe M, Wilson DN, Beckmann R; Nature. 2013;497:80-85. PMID:23636399