Structure and function of spliceosomes

Eukaryotic pre-mRNAs contain non-coding regions (introns) which need to be removed before the mRNA can be used for the synthesis of proteins. This so-called splicing process is catalysed in the cell's nucleus by the spliceosome, a highly complex and dynamic molecular machine. It is composed of numerous protein and RNA components and it is assembled anew on each intron to be removed from an RNA transcript. Using approaches from biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics and structural biology, we study the complex catalytic work cycle of the spliceosome to understand its structure and function.