Reversible chemical modifications on DNA and histones play critical roles in regulating gene expression in eukaryotes. Prior to our work, no example of reversible chemical modifications on RNA that could affect gene expression had been shown. In 2011, we discovered the first RNA demethylase, FTO, a protein belonging to the AlkB family iron- and 2-ketoglutarate (2-KG)-dependent dioxygenases and which is associated with human fat mass obesity. FTO catalyzes oxidative demethylation of the most prevalent internal modifications of mammalian messenger RNA (mRNA) and other nuclear RNA, N6-methyladenosine (m6A). This result, taken together with subsequent transcriptome-wide mapping of m6A, has revived research interest in the investigation of mRNA modifications. We have also characterized the methyltransferase core complex as well as proteins that can selectively recognize m6A-modified mRNA; the binding of m6A-containing mRNA by a family of the reader proteins affects the translation status and lifetime of the target mRNA. While research is ongoing to investigate the functional roles of m6A in various biological processes in laboratories around the world, we have yet to overcome a significant technology hurdle for the study of m6A in RNA: at present no high-throughput sequencing method exists that can detect the exact locations of m6A and reveal the modification percentage of m6A at each site. In the current application, we propose two new methods for the transcriptome-wide, base-resolution sequencing of m6A: i) ADAR-mediated adenosine deamination that differentiates unmodified A from m6A; ii) methyltransferase-assisted chemical labeling of adenosine to identify unmodified A from m6A. Both methods convert unmodified A in RNA into a different base during reverse transcription (RT) and subsequent amplification. The presence of the methyl group on m6A hinders the conversion, thereby allowing us to differentiate A from m6A in sequencing. These methods will be validated in selected biological systems and will be used to investigate potential roles of m6A that may differentiate maternal from zygotic mRNA during maternal to zygotic transition using zebrafish as a model. We believe the availability of these methods will provide enabling tools to future research of m6A in RNA.

Public Health Relevance

N6-methyladenisone (m6A) is the most abundant internal mRNA modification in most eukaryotic organisms including mammals. The proposed research will develop highly sensitive methods in order to obtain transcriptome-wide maps of this modification to enable functional investigation of m6A.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HG008688-03
Application #
9302817
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1)
Program Officer
Smith, Michael
Project Start
2015-09-10
Project End
2019-06-30
Budget Start
2017-07-01
Budget End
2019-06-30
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2017
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Chicago
Department
Chemistry
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
005421136
City
Chicago
State
IL
Country
United States
Zip Code
60637
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Yue, Yanan; Liu, Jun; Cui, Xiaolong et al. (2018) VIRMA mediates preferential m6A mRNA methylation in 3'UTR and near stop codon and associates with alternative polyadenylation. Cell Discov 4:10
Wen, Jing; Lv, Ruitu; Ma, Honghui et al. (2018) Zc3h13 Regulates Nuclear RNA m6A Methylation and Mouse Embryonic Stem Cell Self-Renewal. Mol Cell 69:1028-1038.e6
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Roundtree, Ian A; Luo, Guan-Zheng; Zhang, Zijie et al. (2017) YTHDC1 mediates nuclear export of N6-methyladenosine methylated mRNAs. Elife 6:
Edupuganti, Raghu R; Geiger, Simon; Lindeboom, Rik G H et al. (2017) N6-methyladenosine (m6A) recruits and repels proteins to regulate mRNA homeostasis. Nat Struct Mol Biol 24:870-878
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Zhao, Boxuan Simen; Wang, Xiao; Beadell, Alana V et al. (2017) m6A-dependent maternal mRNA clearance facilitates zebrafish maternal-to-zygotic transition. Nature 542:475-478
Zhao, Boxuan Simen; Roundtree, Ian A; He, Chuan (2017) Post-transcriptional gene regulation by mRNA modifications. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 18:31-42
Lin, Zhen; Hsu, Phillip J; Xing, Xudong et al. (2017) Mettl3-/Mettl14-mediated mRNA N6-methyladenosine modulates murine spermatogenesis. Cell Res 27:1216-1230

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