The dynamic epitranscriptome: N6-methyladenosine and gene expression control

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is a modified base that has long been known to be present in non-coding RNAs, ribosomal RNA, polyadenylated RNA and at least one mammalian mRNA. However, our understanding of the prevalence of this modification has been fundamentally redefined by transcriptome-wide m6A mapping studies, which have shown that m6A is present in a large subset of the transcriptome in specific regions of mRNA. This suggests that mRNA may undergo post-transcriptional methylation to regulate its fate and function, which is analogous to methyl modifications in DNA. Thus, the pattern of methylation constitutes an mRNA 'epitranscriptome'. The identification of adenosine methyltransferases ('writers'), m6A demethylating enzymes ('erasers') and m6A-binding proteins ('readers') is helping to define cellular pathways for the post-transcriptional regulation of mRNAs.

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