ALKBH8 as a potential N⁶ -methyladenosine (m⁶ A) eraser in insects

The N⁶ -methyladenosine (m⁶ A) machinery functions through three groups of proteins in eukaryotic cells, including m⁶ A writers, erasers and readers. The m⁶ A cellular machinery has mostly been characterised in mammalian species, and the relevant literature on insects is currently scant. While homologues of m⁶ A writers and readers have been reported from insects, no erasers have been described so far. Here, using BLAST search, we searched for potential erasers in insects. While we found homologues of human m⁶ A eraser ALKBH5 in termites, beetles and true bugs, they could not be found in representative dipteran and lepidopteran species. However, a potential m⁶ A eraser, ALKBH8, was identified and experimentally investigated. Our results showed that ALKBH8 can reduce the m⁶ A levels of Aedes aegypti and Drosophila melanogaster RNAs, suggesting that AeALKBH8 could be a candidate m⁶ A eraser in insects.