Identification and characterization of Schizosaccharomyces pombe splicing mutants

Pre-mRNA splicing is carried out by the spliceosome, a dynamic complex of five small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles (snRNPs). Several genetic screens have been conducted in Schizosaccharomyces pombe to identify pre-mRNA splicing mutants and spliceosome components . However, some pre-mRNA splicing mutants have yet to be assigned to a gene and in certain cases, the mutations within genes have not been identified and phenotypes compared. Here, we have identified new mutations in the U4/U6.U5 tri-snRNP component dim1 and assigned prp6 and prp7 mutants to snu13 and brl1 , respectively, revealing roles for these factors in pre-mRNA splicing.