Puf6 and Loc1 have two important functional roles in the cells, asymmetric mRNA distribution and ribosome biogenesis. Puf6 and Loc1 are localized predominantly in the nucleolus. They bind ASH1 mRNA, repress its translation, and facilitate the transport to the daughter cells. Asymmetric mRNA distribution is important for cell differentiation. Besides their roles in mRNA localization, Puf6 and Loc1 have been shown to be involved in 60S biogenesis. In puf6⌬ or loc1⌬ cells, pre-rRNA processing and 60S export are impaired and 60S subunits are underaccumulated. The functional studies of Puf6 and Loc1 have been focused on ASH1 mRNA pathway, but their roles in 60S biogenesis are still not clear. In this study, we found that Puf6 and Loc1 interact directly with each other and both proteins interact with the ribosomal protein Rpl43 (L43e). Notably, the roles of Puf6 and Loc1 in 60S biogenesis are interdependent, and both are required for efficient accommodation of Rpl43. Loc1 is further required to maintain the protein level of Rpl43. Additionally, the recruitment of Rpl43 is required for the release of Puf6 and Loc1. We propose that Puf6 and Loc1 facilitate Rpl43 loading and are sequentially released from 60S after incorporation of Rpl43 into ribosomes in yeast.Almost every process in a cell is mediated by proteins, the products of translating mRNA by ribosomes. Ribosomes are composed of two subunits, a small subunit and a large subunit, 40S and 60S, respectively, in eukaryotic cells. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the 40S and 60S subunits are assembled from a large primary 35 S rRNA transcribed by RNA polymerase I. Processing of this rRNA yields 5.8S, 18S, and 25S rRNAs. The 5S rRNA is transcribed by RNA polymerase III separately (see reviews in Refs. 1-4). In yeast, 5S, 5.8S, and 25S (28S in higher eukaryotes) rRNA assemble with 39 ribosomal proteins to make up the 60S subunit, whereas 18S rRNA and 33 ribosomal proteins constitute the 40S subunit (5-7).Ribosome biogenesis is necessary for cell growth and proliferation. The synthesis of ribosome is a complex pathway in which over 200 trans-acting factors are involved. Many of the RNA folding, protein assembly, and maturation events are hierarchical, requiring the correct completion of one event to progress to the next event. This is seen in the assembly of ribosomal proteins onto the RNA in bacterial ribosome assembly (8) as well as in cytoplasmic maturation of the large subunit in yeast (9, 10). In addition, trans-acting factors also perform quality control steps for the assembly of the protein synthesis machinery. Syo1 facilitates the synchronized import of the two 5S rRNA-binding proteins, Rpl5 and Rpl11, to ensure stoichiometric the incorporation of these two proteins into the pre-60S subunits and also works as an assembly platform for the 5S ribonucleoprotein (RNP) (11,12). Release of the anti-association factor Tif6 requires elongation factor-like Efl1 and tRNAlike Sdo1 to confirm the integrity of the P-site (13-15). Transacting factors on cytoplasmic pre-40S subuni...