Open AccessmRNA N6-methyladenosine methylation of postnatal liver development in pig
Author(s) -
He Shen,
Hong Wang,
Rui Li,
Mengnan He,
Tiandong Che,
Long Jin,
Lüe Deng,
Shilin Tian,
Yán Li,
Hongfeng Lü,
Xuewei Li,
Zhi Jiang,
Diyan Li,
Mingzhou Li
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0173421
Subject(s) - methylation , biology , n6 methyladenosine , epigenetics , gene , dna methylation , transcriptome , gene expression , rna methylation , regulation of gene expression , messenger rna , xist , genetics , methyltransferase , x inactivation , x chromosome
N 6 -methyladenosine (m 6 A) is a ubiquitous reversible epigenetic RNA modification that plays an important role in the regulation of post-transcriptional protein coding gene expression. Liver is a vital organ and plays a major role in metabolism with numerous functions. Information concerning the dynamic patterns of mRNA m 6 A methylation during postnatal development of liver has been long overdue and elucidation of this information will benefit for further deciphering a multitude of functional outcomes of mRNA m 6 A methylation. Here, we profile transcriptome-wide m 6 A in porcine liver at three developmental stages: newborn (0 day), suckling (21 days) and adult (2 years). About 33% of transcribed genes were modified by m 6 A, with 1.33 to 1.42 m 6 A peaks per modified gene. m 6 A was distributed predominantly around stop codons. The consensus motif sequence RRm 6 ACH was observed in 78.90% of m 6 A peaks. A negative correlation (average Pearson’s r = -0.45, P < 10 −16 ) was found between levels of m 6 A methylation and gene expression. Functional enrichment analysis of genes consistently modified by m 6 A methylation at all three stages showed genes relevant to important functions, including regulation of growth and development, regulation of metabolic processes and protein catabolic processes. Genes with higher m 6 A methylation and lower expression levels at any particular stage were associated with the biological processes required for or unique to that stage. We suggest that differential m 6 A methylation may be important for the regulation of nutrient metabolism in porcine liver.