M⁶A landscape is more pervasive when Trypanosoma brucei exits the cell cycle.

ABSTRACT: N6-methyladenosine (m⁶A) is an mRNA modification with important roles in gene expression. In African trypanosomes, this post-transcriptional modification is detected in hundreds of transcripts, and it affects the stability of the variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) transcript in the proliferating blood stream form. However, how the m⁶A landscape varies across the life cycle remains poorly defined. Using full-length, non-fragmented RNA, we immunoprecipitated and sequenced m⁶A-modified transcripts across three life cycle stages of Trypanosoma brucei - slender (proliferative), stumpy (quiescent), and procyclic forms (proliferative). We found that 1037 transcripts are methylated in at least one of these three life cycle stages. While 21% of methylated transcript

SUBMITTER: Serra L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12008521 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature