The exosome is involved in the degradation and processing of a wide variety of RNA species. In the cytoplasm of cells, it is involved in the turn-over of messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules. The complex can degrade mRNA molecules that have been tagged for degradation because they contain errors, through interactions with proteins from the nonsense mediated decay or non-stop decay pathways. In alternative fashion, mRNAs are degraded as part of their normal turnover. Several proteins that stabilize or destabilize mRNA molecules through binding to AU-rich elements in the 3' untranslated region of mRNAs interact with the exosome complex. In the nucleus, the exosome is required for the correct processing of several small nuclear RNA molecules. Finally, the nucleolus is the compartment where the majority of the exosome complexes are found. There it plays a role in the processing of the 5.8S ribosomal RNA (the first identified function of the exosome) and of several small nucleolar RNAs.