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 40S subunit. The protein belongs to the S11P family of ribosomal proteins. It is located in the cytoplasm. Transcript variants utilizing alternative transcription initiation sites have been described in the literature. As is typical for genes encoding ribosomal proteins, there are multiple processed pseudogenes of this gene dispersed through the genome. In Chinese hamster ovary cells, mutations in this gene can lead to resistance to emetine, a protein synthesis inhibitor. Multiple alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding the same protein have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008].