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General Genetics/Splicing

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RNA splicing is the removal of introns or intervening sequences (parts that do not code for anything and lay between coding regions). The coding regions are known as exons (expressed sequences). At each end of an intron, there is short sequence that "small nuclear ribonucleoproteins" (snRNPs) recognize and together with other proteins that form an assembly known as a spliceosome, cut out introns and then joined the exons.

Note: Only eukaryotes contain introns in the precursor of messenger RNA (mRNA). prokaryotes, such as bacteria, do not.