Essential for gene silencing: has a role in the structure of silenced chromatin. Plays a role in the developing brain (By similarity). Part of the small subunit (SSU) processome, first precursor of the small eukaryotic ribosomal subunit. During the assembly of the SSU processome in the nucleolus, many ribosome biogenesis factors, an RNA chaperone and ribosomal proteins associate with the nascent pre-rRNA and work in concert to generate RNA folding, modifications, rearrangements and cleavage as well as targeted degradation of pre-ribosomal RNA by the RNA exosome (PubMed:34516797). {ECO:0000250|UniProtKB:Q12136, ECO:0000250|UniProtKB:Q9JI13, ECO:0000269|PubMed:34516797}. This is the function of UTP3 (UTP3 small subunit processome component, ENSG00000132467).