Model of intermediate RNA maturation in T. cruzi. Two steps of trans-splicing and polyadenylation processing generate functional monocistronic mRNAs (see Discussion). In some cases, the second monocistron might not be translated into protein, as is the case for SL-mTS-3′ small RNA. ORF1, ORF2, ORF3, and ORF4, ORFs; pA, polyadenylation site; tsp, trans-splicing site.