RNA processing and modifications

Technological advances in the past decade or so have revolutionized our understanding of the co-transcriptional and post-transcriptional control of gene expression. It has become clear that the different steps of pre-mRNA processing, from 5' capping to nuclear export, are tightly co-regulated and coordinated with transcription, translation and mRNA decay. Furthermore, recent discoveries and the functional characterization of several chemical modifications in mRNA such as N6-methyladenosine (m6A) and 5-methylcytosine (m5C), which together form the epitranscriptome, have revealed a new layer of regulation of mRNA processing and maturation. The articles in this series discuss different aspects of the biogenesis of mRNAs and other RNA species (including microRNAs, rRNAs, tRNAs, small RNAs and other non-coding RNAs), the regulation of RNA processing and chemical modification, and how these processes affect human physiology and disease.