RNA processing
By Levi Clancy for Student Reader on
updated
Eukaryotes encode long precursor RNA transcripts, which are spliced, polyadenylated and capped to produce a messenger RNA that can be translated.
| Capping | Nucleus | Guanosine is added to the 5' end of the mRNA for stability, transport and translation initiation. |
| Polyadenylation | Nucleus | The 3’ end of the RNA is cleaved and a Poly-A tail is added by the polyadenylation complex. |
| Splicing | Cytoplasm | During splicing, introns are excised and exons are ligated together by the very large spliceosome. |