This gene encodes an enzyme that belongs to the methyltransferase family. The encoded protein catalyzes the transfer of methyl groups to the amino acid arginine, in target proteins that include histones, transcriptional elongation factors and the tumor suppressor p53. This gene plays a role in several cellular processes, including transcriptional regulation, and the assembly of small nuclear ribonucleoproteins. A pseudogene of this gene has been defined on chromosome 4. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants encoding different isoforms. PRMT5 is a highly conserved arginine methyltransferase that translocated from the cytoplasm to the nucleus at embryonic day ~E8.5, and during preimplantation development at the ~4-cell stage. Model organisms have been used in the study of PRMT5 function. A conditional knockout mouse line, called Prmt5tm2a (EUCOMM)Wtsi was generated as part of the International Knockout Mouse Consortium program — a high-throughput mutagenesis project to generate and distribute animal models of disease to interested scientists.