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Updated: Dec 24, 2025
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A Method for Measuring RNA N6-methyladenosine Modifications in Cells and Tissues
Published on: December 5, 2016
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Distribution Patterns of DNA N6-Methyladenosine Modification in Non-coding RNA Genes
Yu Li1, Xiao-Ming Zhang2, Mei-Wei Luan1
1Key Laboratory of Genetics and Germplasm Innovation of Tropical Special Forest Trees and Ornamental Plants (Ministry of Education), Hainan Key Laboratory for Biology of Tropical Ornamental Plant Germplasm, College of Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou, China.
Frontiers in Genetics
|April 9, 2020
Summary
N6-methyladenosine (6mA) DNA modification is crucial for gene expression. This study reveals 6mA modification is less common in non-coding RNA genes, impacting their expression levels across species.
Area of Science:
- Epigenetics
- Molecular Biology
- Genomics
Background:
- N6-methyladenosine (6mA) DNA modification is a key epigenetic regulator of gene expression.
- Aberrant expression of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) is linked to various diseases.
- The distribution and function of 6mA in ncRNA genes remain largely unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the distribution of 6mA modification in ncRNA genes.
- To compare 6mA distribution in ncRNA genes with protein-coding genes.
- To investigate the functional implications of 6mA modification in ncRNAs.
Main Methods:
- Utilized single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing data.
- Analyzed 6mA distribution in ncRNA and protein-coding genes across four species: *Arabidopsis thaliana*, *Caenorhabditis elegans*, *Drosophila melanogaster*, and *Homo sapiens*.
- Compared methylation levels and expression patterns between methylated and unmethylated genes.
Main Results:
- Consensus motifs for 6mA locations were highly conserved across the four species.
- Non-coding genes exhibited lower methylation frequencies compared to protein-coding genes.
- 6mA-methylated long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) genes showed significantly lower expression than unmethylated genes in *A. thaliana*, *D. melanogaster*, and *H. sapiens*.
Conclusions:
- The study provides the first comprehensive profiling of 6mA modification in ncRNA regions across multiple species.
- 6mA modification appears to play a role in regulating the expression levels of ncRNAs.
- These findings open new avenues for understanding epigenetic regulation by 6mA in non-coding genomic elements.
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