Deciphering the role of N⁶-methyladenosine RNA methylation in seedling development ofArabidopsis thaliana
Y. WU, B. ZHANG, H. YU
Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore

Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, National University of Singapore

N⁶ -methyladenosin (m⁶A) RNA methylation is the most abundant internal modification in eukaryotic mRNA. The installation, removal, and recognition of m⁶A modification are conducted by m⁶A writers, erasers, and readers, respectively. m⁶A writer complex in Arabidopsis thaliana is composed of five core components, including MTA, MTB, FIP37, VIR, and HAKAI. The deficiency in any of these m⁶A writer proteins, except for HAKAI, causes the embryo-lethal phenotype. To understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the role of m⁶A in Arabidopsis , we have recently identified a potential m⁶A regulator, named MTB-related regulation factor (BRF), whose loss-of-function mutants exhibit similar vegetative defects as m⁶A writer mutants, such as an enlarged shoot apical meristem and a decreased main root length. The embryo dividing pattern of brf is also comparable to that of the m⁶A writer mutants. As expected, m⁶A levels are decreased in brf mRNA. In addition, we revealed the interaction between BRF and the core m⁶A writer proteins, including MTB. These results imply that the interaction between BRF and m⁶A writer proteins may be involved in mediating m⁶A modification during Arabidopsis seedling development, which prompts us to further investigate the underlying mechanisms.