Synthetic and Functional Biomolecules Center, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Chemistry and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
Essays Biochem. 2020 Dec 7;64(6):967-979. doi: 10.1042/EBC20200039.
Research on N6-methyladenosine (m6A) in recent years has revealed the complex but elegant regulatory role of this RNA modification in multiple physiological processes. The advent of m6A detection technologies is the basis for studying the function of this RNA modification. These technologies enable the detection of m6A sites across transcriptome or at specific gene, thereby revealing the alternation and dynamic of RNA modification. However, non-specific signals that arise from the antibody-based methods and the low-resolution landscape have become the major drawback of classic m6A detection methods. In this review, we summarize the current available methods and categorized them into three groups according to the utilization purpose, including measurement of total m6A levels, detection m6A locus in single gene, and m6A sequencing. We hope this review helps researchers in epitranscriptomic field find an appropriate m6A detection tool that suites their experimental design.
近年来，关于 N6-甲基腺苷（m6A）的研究揭示了这种 RNA 修饰在多种生理过程中复杂而优雅的调控作用。m6A 检测技术的出现是研究这种 RNA 修饰功能的基础。这些技术能够在整个转录组或特定基因上检测 m6A 位点，从而揭示 RNA 修饰的变化和动态。然而，基于抗体的方法产生的非特异性信号和低分辨率景观已成为经典 m6A 检测方法的主要缺点。在这篇综述中，我们总结了目前可用的方法，并根据其用途将它们分为三组，包括总 m6A 水平的测量、单个基因中 m6A 位置的检测和 m6A 测序。我们希望这篇综述能帮助表观转录组学领域的研究人员找到适合其实验设计的合适的 m6A 检测工具。
