Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Journal Club
  • Published:

RNA METABOLISM

How m6A makes its mark

Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology volume 23, page 519 (2022)Cite this article

Subjects

Nowadays, it is widely appreciated that mRNAs undergo a variety of chemical modifications that influence their function. However, as recently as ten years ago, our knowledge of the so-called ‘epitranscriptome’ was quite limited. The discovery in 2012 that thousands of cellular mRNAs contain the modification N6-methyladenosine (m6A) helped spark a renewed interest in mRNA modifications, and since then our knowledge of m6A and how it functions has grown exponentially.

The ways in which m6A controls cellular mRNAs are diverse: perform a quick literature search and you will not have difficulty finding studies that support roles for m6A in nearly every aspect of the mRNA life cycle. However, one of the most consistently reported functions of m6A has been to promote mRNA degradation. Although recent advances in sequencing and other technologies have contributed substantially to these discoveries, it was pioneering work done in 1978 that first suggested that m6A contributes to mRNA decay.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

Original article

  • Sommer, S. et al. The absolute frequency of labeled N-6-methyladenosine in HeLa cell messenger RNA decreases with label time. J. Mol. Biol. 124, 487–499 (1978)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA

    Kate D. Meyer

Authors
  1. Kate D. Meyer
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kate D. Meyer.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Meyer, K.D. How m6A makes its mark. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 23, 519 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41580-022-00492-9

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Version of record:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41580-022-00492-9

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing