Architecture of the U6 snRNP reveals specific recognition of 3′-end processed U6 snRNA

Abstract

The spliceosome removes introns from precursor messenger RNAs to produce mature mRNAs. Here the authors report a U6 snRNP crystal structure that provides insight on how the 3′ phosphate of U6 snRNA is recognized by the Lsm2–8 complex and how the U6 snRNP proteins sequester and protect the active site RNA until it is assembled into the spliceosome.