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m6A RNA Methylation: Ramifications for Gene Expression and Human Health

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Abstract

Cellular transcriptomes are frequently adorned by a variety of chemical modification marks, which in turn have a profound influence on its functioning. Of these modifications, the one which has invited a lot of attention in the recent years is m6A RNA methylation, leading to the development of RNA epigenetics or epitranscriptomics as a frontier research area. m6A RNA methylation is one of the most abundant reversible internal modification seen in cellular RNAs. Studies in the last few years have not only shed light on the molecular machinery involved in m6A RNA methylation but also on the impact of this modification in regulating gene expression and hence biological processes. In this review, we will emphasize the biological impact of this modification in normal organismal development and diseases.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by an extramural grant from DST-SERB, Government of India [Grant Number CRG/2018/000492 (to P.K.)]. P.K. acknowledges infrastructural and financial support from BITS Pilani-Hyderabad Campus, India. K.R. acknowledges fellowship from BITS Pilani-Hyderabad Campus, India. We apologize to our colleagues whose work we could not mention because of space limitations.

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  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani - Hyderabad Campus, Jawahar Nagar, Kapra Mandal, Medchal District, Hyderabad, Telangana, 500078, India

    R. Karthiya & Piyush Khandelia

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Correspondence to Piyush Khandelia.

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Karthiya, R., Khandelia, P. m6A RNA Methylation: Ramifications for Gene Expression and Human Health. Mol Biotechnol 62, 467–484 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12033-020-00269-5

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