Poster Presentation 41st Lorne Genome Conference 2020

DISSECTING THE ROLES OF N6-METHYLADENOSINE (m6A) RNA MODIFICATION READERS IN EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS (#214)

Majid Mehravar 1 , Yogesh Kumar 1 , Dhaval Hathiwala 1 , Dhiru Bansal 2 , Jon Price 2 , Ralf Schittenhelm 1 , Eric Miska 2 , Pratibha Tripathi 1 , Partha Pratim Das 1
  1. Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Clayton, VIC, Australia
  2. The Wellcome Trust/CRUK Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

Epitranscriptomic or RNA epigenetic modifications relate to post-transcriptional RNA modifications. To date, more than 150 different RNA modifications have been identified in various classes of RNAs across the different organisms. m6A is the most abundant internal modification that has been identified in mRNAs and long noncoding RNAs. The deposition of m6A is catalyzed by methyltransferases (METTL3/METTL14) (m6A-writers), can be removed by demethylases (FTO and ALKBH5) (m6A-erasers), and "m6A-readers" recognize m6A modification, to direct several biological processes. In the context of embryonic stem cells (ESCs), METTL3 and its associated factor (ZC3H13) have been demonstrated to play a vital role in ESCs. Nonetheless, functions of m6A- readers in ESCs are currently unexplored. In this study, we identified a list of m6A-readers, including novel and known ones in mESCs. Further studies focused on MOV10 (an RNA helicase, and a novel m6A- reader protein) and YTHDF2 (best-studied m6A- reader protein), as both of their roles were unknown in ESCs. To dissect the detailed functions of MOV10 and YTHDF2 in ESCs, we generated the Knock out (KO) lines of Mov10 and Ythdf2 in mouse ESCs that demonstrate severe and moderate differentiation phenotypes respectively. This is related to accumulation of m6A levels in several ESC-specific TF (Nanog, Tbx3, Klf4 and Esrrb) transcripts that lead to repression of these transcripts in Mov10 and Ythdf2 KOs. Moreover, biochemical analysis reveals both MOV10 and YTHDF2 interact with several key components of the P-bodies to maintain its integrity for mRNA stability. In the absence of Mov10 and Ythdf2, P-bodies dissolve, mRNAs are released and perhaps exposed to the METTL3/14 for the accumulation of m6A, which direct towards the mRNA decay and/or subsequent translation efficiency. These events are currently under investigation. Altogether, our findings will uncover the detailed molecular functions of MOV10 and YTHDF2 to maintain the mESC state.