Deciphering m6A dynamics at a single-base level during planarian anterior-posterior axis specification

Background: The establishment of the anterior-posterior (A-P) axis is a crucial step during tissue repair and regeneration. Despite the association reported recently of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) with regeneration, the mechanism underlying the regulation of m6A in A-P axis specification during regener...

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Main Authors: Liqian Chen, Hui Zhen, Zixin Chen, Mujie Huang, Daniel W. Mak, Wei Jin, Yuxiu Zou, Mingjie Chen, Mingyue Zheng, Qingqiang Xie, Zhongjun Zhou, Guoxiang Jin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-01-01
Series:Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2001037023003306
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Summary:Background: The establishment of the anterior-posterior (A-P) axis is a crucial step during tissue repair and regeneration. Despite the association reported recently of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) with regeneration, the mechanism underlying the regulation of m6A in A-P axis specification during regeneration remains unknown. Herein, we deciphered the m6A landscape at a single-base resolution at multiple time points during A-P axis regeneration and constructed the de novo transcriptome assembly of the Dugesia japonica planarian. Results: Immunofluorescence staining and comparative analysis revealed that m6A is widespread across the planarian and dynamically regulated during regeneration along the A-P axis, exhibiting a strong spatiotemporal feature. The resulting datasets of m6A-modified genes identified 80 anterior-specific genes and 13 posterior-specific genes, respectively. In addition, we showed that YTHDC1 serves as the primary m6A reader to be involved in the m6A-mediated specification of A-P axis during regeneration in Dugesia japonica planarian. Conclusions: Our study provides an RNA epigenetic explanation for the specification of the A-P axis during tissue regeneration in planarian.
ISSN:2001-0370