Impact of the gut microbiota on the m⁶A epitranscriptome of mouse cecum and liver.

ABSTRACT: The intestinal microbiota modulates host physiology and gene expression via mechanisms that are not fully understood. Here we examine whether host epitranscriptomic marks are affected by the gut microbiota. We use methylated RNA-immunoprecipitation and sequencing (MeRIP-seq) to identify N6-methyladenosine (m⁶A) modifications in mRNA of mice carrying conventional, modified, or no microbiota. We find that variations in the gut microbiota correlate with m⁶A modifications in the cecum, and to a lesser extent in the liver, affecting pathways related to metabolism, inflammation and antimicrobial responses. We analyze expression levels of several known writer and eraser enzymes, and find that the methyltransferase Mettl16 is downregulated in absence of a microbiota, and one

SUBMITTER: Jabs S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7067863 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature