Spliceosomal snRNA modifications and their function.

Spliceosomal snRNAs are extensively 2'-O-methylated and pseudouridylated. The modified nucleotides are relatively highly conserved across species, and are often clustered in regions of functional importance in pre-mRNA splicing. Over the past decade, the study of the mechanisms and functions of spliceosomal snRNA modifications has intensified. Two independent mechanisms behind these modifications, RNA-independent (protein-only) and RNA-dependent (RNA-guided), have been discovered. The role of spliceosomal snRNA modifications in snRNP biogenesis and spliceosome assembly has also been verified.