Identification of human proteins whose binding to the N6-methyladenosine-containing hairpin from 28S rRNA is modulated by methylation

We have recently found that the human methyltransferase ZCCHC4 is responsible for introducing the single m6A modification in 28S rRNA. The project is aimed at further elucidating the functional consequences of such methylation. To this end, protein mass spectrometry is utilized to identify proteins that bind preferentially to the methylated or unmethylated form of the m6A containing hairpin sequence in 28S rRNA. Specifically, this is done by incubating a HeLa cell extract with an methylated or unmethylated RNA oligonucleotide containing a biotin affinity tag, which is used to pull-down the RNA with associated proteins.