Abstract:

“Central dogma” is the theoretical basis of modern biology. In most cases, the genetic information is encoded by DNA. It flows from DNA to RNA via transcription, and from RNA to protein via translation. With the in-depth study, people have realized that RNA is likely the core of the central dogma. It not only acts as a bridge for genetic information from DNA to protein, but also tunes genes expression in more precise and efficient manners via post-transcriptional regulation. RNA modification plays the leading role in post-transcriptional regulation. The research on all kinds of RNA modifications and their modifiers, de-modifiers and binding proteins has been one of the most attractive area in biological science, known as RNA epigenetics or epitranscriptomics. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the best studied RNA modification so far. This article introduces the regulatory role of m6A in stem cell pluripotency and
differentiation, virus infection and self-replication, and fruit fly sex determination. Meanwhile, the role of RNA modification in the regulation of other life processes is being revealed constantly, indicating that the research of RNA modification will affect the development of medical, pharmaceutical, even agriculture.