MTA mediated m6A modification promotes chilling tolerance by regulating gene translation efficiency in Arabidopsis

Plants can respond to low temperatures with diverse mechanisms occurred at transcriptional and translational levels. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most prevalent mRNA modification in eukaryotes that acts as a new emerging layer of epitranscriptomic gene regulation. However, the cellular roles of m6A in plant response to low temperatures remain largely unknown. Here we show that mRNA m6A modification is indispensable for Arabidopsis growth under chilling conditions. Gene expression,translation efficiency and m6A peaks were identified from wild type Columbia-0 and AmiR-mta mutant under chilling and normal conditions in two biological replicates.