Messenger RNA modifications: Form, distribution, and function
Author(s)
Gilbert, Wendy; Bell, Tristan Andrew; Schaening, Cassandra
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RNA contains more than 100 distinct modifications that promote the functions of stable noncoding RNAs in translation and splicing. Recent technical advances have revealed widespread and sparse modification of messenger RNAs with N[superscript 6]-methyladenosine (m[superscript 6]A), 5-methylcytosine (m[superscript 5]C) and pseudouridine (Ψ). Here we discuss the rapidly evolving understanding of the location, regulation and function of these dynamic mRNA marks, collectively termed the epitranscriptome. We highlight differences among modifications and between species that could instruct ongoing efforts to understand how specific mRNAs target sites are selected and how their modification is
regulated. Diverse molecular consequences of individual m[superscript 6]A modifications are beginning to be revealed but the effects of m[superscript 5]C and Ψ remain largely unknown. Future work linking molecular effects to organismal phenotypes will broaden our understanding of mRNA modifications as cell and developmental regulators.
Date issued
2016-06Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Computational and Systems Biology Program; Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of BiologyJournal
Science
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Citation
Gilbert, W. V., T. A. Bell, and C. Schaening. “Messenger RNA Modifications: Form, Distribution, and Function.” Science 352.6292 (2016): 1408–1412.
Version: Author's final manuscript
ISSN
0036-8075
1095-9203