An important aspect of growth is ribosome biogenesis. The ribosome is the molecular machine that is responsible for protein synthesis hence growth. What still remains unclear is the contribution of rRNA and ribosomal proteins to tissue and body growth in developing animals.
Using Drosophila as a model system, the experiments described showed that mutations in certain ribosomal proteins result in no change or an increase in overall body size of Drosophila pupae.
The results showed a link to delayed development to the pupal stage, suggesting an explanation to the increased body size.