Splicing is one of the major nuclear RNA processing steps that is required for the maturation of most mRNAs. Due to the error-prone nature of RNA splicing, elaborate quality control processes ensure that only correctly spliced transcripts can leave the nucleus. While it has been long known that mutations affecting the nuclear exosome result in the accumulation of un-spliced and mis-spliced transcripts, the underlying mechanisms and the quality control steps involved in this process are not understood.
Our latest, still unpublished data uncovers the long sought-after link between splicing quality control and nuclear RNA surveillance, and provides mechanistic details about how splicing quality control is connected to the RNA degradation machinery and to the disassembly of arrested spliceosomes.