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RNA

Exon junction complex modulates m6A distribution

Nature Reviews Genetics volume 24, page 141 (2023)Cite this article

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N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most prevalent base modification in the mammalian transcriptome and is reported to have roles in many cellular processes, including RNA splicing and stability. It is deposited at DRACH motifs (D = A/G/U R = A/G, H = A/C/U) by the METTL3–METTL14 methyltransferase complex, although only a fraction of these motifs is modified in cellular RNA. Moreover, m6A is deposited unevenly along mRNAs, with highest levels found in 3′ untranslated regions (UTRs) and within unusually long internal exons, but the mechanism underlying this non-uniform modification pattern has been unclear. Now, two studies demonstrate that the exon junction complex (EJC) helps to shape this characteristic distribution by excluding m6A from exon junctions.

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  1. Nature Reviews Genetics http://www.nature.com/nrg/

    Dorothy Clyde

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  1. Dorothy Clyde
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Correspondence to Dorothy Clyde.

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Clyde, D. Exon junction complex modulates m6A distribution. Nat Rev Genet 24, 141 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41576-023-00581-1

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