1. RNA stability controlled by m6A methylation contributes to X-to-autosome dosage compensation in mammals
- Author
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Cornelia Rücklé, Nadine Körtel, M. Felicia Basilicata, Anke Busch, You Zhou, Peter Hoch-Kraft, Kerstin Tretow, Fridolin Kielisch, Marco Bertin, Mihika Pradhan, Michael Musheev, Susann Schweiger, Christof Niehrs, Oliver Rausch, Kathi Zarnack, Claudia Isabelle Keller Valsecchi, and Julian König
- Subjects
Structural Biology ,Molecular Biology - Abstract
In mammals, X-chromosomal genes are expressed from a single copy since males (XY) possess a single X chromosome, while females (XX) undergo X inactivation. To compensate for this reduction in dosage compared with two active copies of autosomes, it has been proposed that genes from the active X chromosome exhibit dosage compensation. However, the existence and mechanisms of X-to-autosome dosage compensation are still under debate. Here we show that X-chromosomal transcripts have fewer m6A modifications and are more stable than their autosomal counterparts. Acute depletion of m6A selectively stabilizes autosomal transcripts, resulting in perturbed dosage compensation in mouse embryonic stem cells. We propose that higher stability of X-chromosomal transcripts is directed by lower levels of m6A, indicating that mammalian dosage compensation is partly regulated by epitranscriptomic RNA modifications.
- Published
- 2023
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