Dynamic and reversible RNA N -methyladenosine methylation.

N -methyladenosine (m A) is the most abundant internal chemical modification in eukaryotic messenger RNAs (mRNAs). The discovery in 2011 that m A is reversed by the fat mass and obesity-associated protein stimulated extensive worldwide research efforts on the regulatory biological functions of dynamic m A and other RNA modifications. The epitranscriptomic mark m A is written, read, and erased through the activities of a complicated network of enzymes and other proteins. m A-binding proteins read m A marks and transduce their downstream regulatory effects by altering RNA metabolic processes. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of m A modifications, with particular focus on the functions of its writer, eraser, and reader proteins in posttranscriptional gene regulation and discuss the impact of m A marks on human health. This article is categorized under: RNA Processing > RNA Editing and Modification RNA in Disease and Development > RNA in Disease.