According to the textbook, in eukaryotes, the primary transcript (hnRNA) contains both exons and introns and is non-functional. It must undergo processing within the nucleus, which includes splicing (removal of introns and joining of exons), capping (addition of methyl guanosine triphosphate at the 5'-end), and tailing (addition of adenylate residues at the 3'-end). It is the fully processed hnRNA, now called mRNA, that is then transported out of the nucleus for translation . Therefore, transport to the cytoplasm occurs after splicing, not prior to it.