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Grand Challenge Commentary: RNA epigenetics?

Nature Chemical Biology volume 6, pages 863–865 (2010)Cite this article

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Post-transcriptional RNA modifications can be dynamic and might have functions beyond fine-tuning the structure and function of RNA. Understanding these RNA modification pathways and their functions may allow researchers to identify new layers of gene regulation at the RNA level.

For a long time, DNA took first place in biological research on nucleic acids. However, the discoveries of catalytic RNAs and functional noncoding RNAs over the past two or three decades have completely changed our views on RNA. RNA research has become one of the most dynamic and fast-growing fields in science. Cellular RNAs (ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), transfer RNAs (tRNAs), messenger RNAs (mRNAs), small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs) and others) contain more than a hundred structurally distinct post-transcriptional modifications at thousands of sites (http://rna-mdb.cas.albany.edu/RNAmods/). Many of these modifications have been known for decades. However, despite this large chemical diversity and the rapid advance of RNA research, the enzymes that post-transcriptionally modify RNA and the roles of covalent changes of RNA have been less investigated. A common view of RNA modification is that it has an adaptive role that can fine-tune the structures and functions of mature RNAs to influence gene expression1, but recent studies have also hinted that RNA modification may have other functions. Some post-transcriptional RNA modifications can be dynamic and might have regulatory roles analogous to those of post-translational protein modifications. Understanding the scope and mechanisms of these dynamic RNA modifications, which could be termed 'RNA epigenetics', represents a new frontier in research for chemical biologists.

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Figure 1: Examples of RNA modification and demodification that may impact biological regulation.

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  1. Chuan He is in the Department of Chemistry and Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.,

    Chuan He

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Correspondence to Chuan He.

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He, C. Grand Challenge Commentary: RNA epigenetics?. Nat Chem Biol 6, 863–865 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio.482

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