The 60S subunit is one of the two components that make up the ribosome, the cellular machinery responsible for protein synthesis. It is part of the larger eukaryotic ribosome, which consists of a 40S subunit and the 60S subunit. The 60S subunit is composed of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and proteins, playing a crucial role in the assembly of amino acids into proteins. During translation, the 60S subunit interacts with the 40S subunit to form a functional ribosome. This process occurs in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells, where the ribosome reads messenger RNA (mRNA) and facilitates the binding of transfer RNA (tRNA) to ensure accurate protein synthesis.