M6A modification is incorporated into bacterial mRNA without specific functional benefit.

ABSTRACT: N 6-Methyladenosine (m6A), the most abundant modification in eukaryotic messenger RNAs (mRNAs), has also been found at a low level in bacterial mRNAs. However, enzyme(s) that introduce m6A modification on mRNAs in bacteria remain elusive. In this work, we combine deep-sequencing approaches that identify m6A sites with in vitro biochemical studies to identify putative m6A methyltransferases that would modify Escherichia coli mRNAs. We tested four uncharacterized candidates predicted to encode proteins with putative methyltransferase domains, whose deletion decreased the m6A level. However, in vitro analysis with the purified putative methyltransferases revealed that none of them installs m6A on mRNA. Exposure to heat and oxidative stress also changed the m6A level; however, we found no clea

SUBMITTER: Szydlo K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12096079 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature