The mitochondrial ribosome is a protein complex that is essential for the translation of 13 mitochondrial proteins. The ribosome is encoded by the nuclear genome and is made up of two subunits: a smaller 28S subunit and a larger 39S subunit. The smaller 28S subunit is encoded by the MRPS35 gene. As part of the ribosome, the MRPS35 protein is thus involved in the biological processes of mitochondrial translational elongation, mitochondrial translational termination and DNA damage response.

The MRPS35 gene, located on the short arm of chromosome 12, spans a length of 45.5 kb of DNA. Its coding sequence is spread across 9 exons and it encodes a 36.8 kDa protein product composed of 323 amino acids. An additional 21 kDa isoform of the MRPS35 protein exists due to an alternatively spliced transcript variant. While the gene is found to be expressed in the nervous system and lung, overexpression is seen in the pancreas and adrenal gland.