Transcriptome-wide dynamics of m6A mRNA methylation during porcine spermatogenesis

Purpose: To understand the transcriptome-wide distribution of m6A and their roles in porcine spermatogenesis. We firstly isolated porcine spermatogonia, pachytene spermatocytes and round spermatids to analyze the transcriptome-wide distribution of m6A. Incorporation with RNA expression pattern, we systematically analyzed m6A roles in regulation of porcine spermatogenesis. Analysis revealed that m6A distributed throughout the transcripts and peaks at 3’UTR near the stop codon and located preferentially on the motif GGACU. In addition, gene expression was positively regulated by the m6A modification. Those genes regulated by m6A modification mainly participated in metabolic process in spermatogonia, cell cycle process in pachytene spermatocytes and developmental process in round spermatids. We further demonstrated that m6A mediated SETDB1 and cell cycle associated gene expression in spermatogonia.