ABSTRACT
Messenger RNA (mRNA) can be modified by more than 100 chemical modifications. Among these modifications, N6-methyladenosine (m⁶A) is one of the most prevalent modifications. During the processes of cells differentiation, embryo development or stress, m⁶A can be modified on key mRNAs and regulate the progress of cells through modulating mRNA metabolism and translation. Other mRNA modifications, including N1-methyladenosine (m¹A), 5-methylcytosine (m⁵C) and pseudouridine, together with m⁶A form the epitranscriptome of mRNA that accurately modulate the mRNA translation. Here we review the types and characteristic of mRNA epigenetic modifications, especially the recent progresses of the function of m⁶A, we also expect the main research direction of m⁶A epigenetic modification in the future.
Subject(s)
Adenosine , Genetics , Metabolism , Cell Differentiation , Genetics , Embryonic Development , Genetics , Epigenesis, Genetic , Gene Expression Regulation , RNA Processing, Post-Transcriptional , RNA, Messenger , MetabolismABSTRACT
More than 100 modifications have been found in RNA. Analogous to epigenetic DNA methylation, epitranscriptomic modifications can be written, read, and erased by a complex network of proteins. Apart from N-methyladenosine (mA), N-methyladenosine (mA) has been found as a reversible modification in tRNA and mRNA. mA occurs at positions 9, 14, and 58 of tRNA, with mA58 being critical for tRNA stability. Other than the hundreds of mA sites in mRNA and long non-coding RNA transcripts, transcriptome-wide mapping of mA also identifies >20 mA sites in mitochondrial genes. mA in the coding region of mitochondrial transcripts can inhibit the translation of the corresponding proteins. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of mA in mRNA and tRNA, covering high-throughput sequencing methods developed for mA methylome, mA-related enzymes (writers and erasers), as well as its functions in mRNA and tRNA.