m6A methylation regulates mRNA recruitment into stress granules

Reversible post-transcriptional modifications on messenger RNA emerge as prevalent phenomena in RNA metabolism and the most abundant among them is N6-methyladenosine (m6A) which is pivotal for RNA metabolism and function. In mammalian cells, the m6A is asymmetrically distributed along mRNAs and most ubiquitous in the vicinity of the stop codon of coding sequences (CDS) and 3’ untranslated region (3’UTR) compared to other regions. However, whether methylation in other mRNA segments plays a role in mRNA metabolism and how the dynamics is regulated remains to be determined. Here we have uncovered a previously unappreciated function for RNA m6A modification in the oxidative-stress response and our findings expand the breadth of physiological roles of m6A.