Jiang Liu-Cheng, Men Meng, Cui Xuan-Jun, Zeng Ren-Jie, Gu Shu-Yi, Feng Tian, Zeng Chen, Ye Tiantian, Xiong Jun, Yuan Bi-Feng, Feng Yu-Qi
College of Chemistry and Molecular Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China.
School of Bioengineering and Health, Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan 430200, China.
Metabolites. 2025 May 10;15(5):319. doi: 10.3390/metabo15050319.
: Small RNA, defined as RNA molecules of less than 200 nucleotides in length, play pivotal regulatory roles in plant growth, development, and environmental stress responses. However, research on modifications in plant small RNA remains limited. : In this study, we developed a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for the simultaneous detection of 41 RNA modifications, facilitating the systematic qualification and quantification of modifications in plant small RNA. : We identified a total of nine modifications, among which ,-dimethyladenosine (mA) is a newly identified modification in plant small RNA. Furthermore, we conducted a quantitative analysis of these modifications in during the germination process and observed significant dynamic changes in their abundance from 1 to 5 days post-germination. Notably, the trends in the contents of these modifications exhibited a strong correlation with the reported gene expression levels of the relevant modifying enzymes and demodifying enzymes, suggesting that these modifications may play essential roles during seed germination and are tightly regulated by the genes of the corresponding enzymes. : The discovery of these modifications in plant small RNA, coupled with the dynamic changes in their levels during germination, holds great promise for a further understanding of the physiological functions of small RNA modifications and their associated regulatory mechanisms in plant seed germination.
小RNA被定义为长度小于200个核苷酸的RNA分子，在植物生长、发育和环境应激反应中发挥关键的调节作用。然而，关于植物小RNA修饰的研究仍然有限。在本研究中，我们开发了一种液相色谱-串联质谱（LC-MS/MS）方法，用于同时检测41种RNA修饰，有助于对植物小RNA修饰进行系统的鉴定和定量。我们总共鉴定出9种修饰，其中N6,N6-二甲基腺苷（mA）是植物小RNA中一种新鉴定出的修饰。此外，我们对这些修饰在种子萌发过程中的情况进行了定量分析，并观察到它们在萌发后1至5天的丰度有显著的动态变化。值得注意的是，这些修饰的含量变化趋势与报道的相关修饰酶和去修饰酶的基因表达水平呈现出强烈的相关性，这表明这些修饰可能在种子萌发过程中发挥重要作用，并受到相应酶基因的严格调控。在植物小RNA中发现这些修饰，以及它们在萌发过程中的水平动态变化，为进一步了解小RNA修饰的生理功能及其在植物种子萌发中的相关调控机制带来了很大希望。
