RNA Splicing

In molecular biology and genetics, splicing is a modification of the nascent pre-messenger RNA (pre-mRNA) transcript in which introns are removed and exons are joined. For nuclear encoded genes, splicing takes place within the nucleus after or concurrently with transcription. Splicing is needed for the typical eukaryotic messenger RNA (mRNA) before it can be used to produce a correct protein through translation. For many eukaryotic introns, splicing is done in a series of reactions which are catalyzed by the spliceosome, a complex of small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs), but there are also self-splicing introns.