Nuclear PRP20 protein is required for mRNA export.

The yeast PRP20 protein is highly homologous in structure and function to the RCC1 protein of higher eukaryotes. The RCC1 protein is involved in the regulation of the onset of mitosis, whereas the PRP20 protein was shown to be required for accurate and efficient mRNA metabolism. The first observable phenotype in mutant prp20 cells when shifted from permissive to non-permissive temperature is a loss of nuclear PRP20 protein. Concomitantly, an accumulation of poly(A)+ RNA in the nucleus is observed. The temperature-sensitive RCC1 allele in the mutant hamster cell line tsBN2 leads to a similar accumulation of mRNA in the nucleus.