We have previously isolated three synthetic lethal mutants from Schizosaccharomyces pombe in order to identify mutations in the genes that are functionally linked to spmex67 with respect to mRNA export. A novel rsm1 gene was isolated by complementation of the growth defect in one of the synthetic lethal mutants, SLMex1. The rsml gene contains no introns and encodes a 296 amino-add-long protein with the RING finger domain, a C3HC4 in the N-terminal half. The Δrsm1 null mutant is viable, but it showed a slight poly(A)$^$＋/ RNA accumulation in the nucleus. Also, the combination of Δrsm1 and Δspmex67 mutations confers synthetic lethality that is accompanied by the severe poly(A)$^$＋/ RNA export defect. These results suggest that rsm1 is involved in mRNA export from the nucleus.