N6-methyladenosine transcriptome-wide profiles of maize kernel development

Maize (Zea mays L.) kernel development is a complex and dynamic process involving cell division and differentiation, into a variety of cell types. Epigenetic modifications, including DNA methylation, play a pivotal role in regulating this process. N6-methyladenosine modification is a universal and dynamic posttranscriptional epigenetic modification that is involved in the regulation of plant development. However, the role of N6-methyladenosine in maize kernel development remains unknown. In this study, we have constructed transcriptome-wide profiles for maize kernels at various stages of early development. Utilizing a combination of MeRIP-seq and RNA-seq analyses, we identified a total of 11,170, 10,973, 11,094, 11,990, 12,203, and 10,893 N6-methyladenosine peaks in maize kernels at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12 days after pollination, respectively. These N6-methyladenosine modifications were primarily deposited at the 3'-UTRs and were associated with the conserved motif-UGUACA. Additionally, we found that conserved N6-methyladenosine modification is involved in the regulation of genes that are ubiquitously expressed during kernel development. Further analysis revealed that N6-methyladenosine peak intensity was negatively correlated with the mRNA abundance of these ubiquitously expressed genes. Meanwhile, we employed phylogenetic analysis to predict potential regulatory proteins involved in maize kernel development and identified several that participate in the regulation of N6-methyladenosine modifications. Collectively, our results suggest the existence of a novel posttranscriptional epigenetic modification mechanism involved in the regulation of maize kernel development, thereby providing a novel perspective for maize molecular breeding.