CRISPR-Cas9 knockdown of RBM48 in K562 cells

U12-type or minor (U12) introns are spliced by a distinct minor spliceosome and are found in the vast majority of multicellular eukaryotes, including plants and animals. Although U12 introns constitute less than 0.5% of all introns in many species, minor intron containing genes (MIGs) are important for organismal growth, development and pathology. We recently reported that maize RNA Binding Motif Protein 48 (RBM48) is required for U12-type intron splicing. Maize rbm48 mutants have genome-wide defects of U12 intron splicing, leading to abnormal endosperm cell differentiation and proliferation. To investigate whether RBM48 mediated U12 splicing is conserved between maize and humans, we generated a CRISPR/Cas9-mediated RBM48 functional knockout of the human RBM48 ortholog (RBM48 FunKO) in human K-562 cells. The mRNA profiles of RBM48 knockout and Vector Control K562 cells were generated by deep sequencing, in triplicate, using Illumina HiSeq platform