Drosophila, a Model to Study RNA Modification and Epitranscriptomics

Dear Colleagues,

RNA is a heavily modified molecule with over 150 modifications described across different species. These modifications can change both the chemical and structural properties of RNA and have effects on many aspects of RNA biology. While the understanding of tRNA and rRNA modifications is relatively broad, that of mRNA is far less so. Despite the presence of many modifications on mRNA,  few have been characterized and the understanding of their contribution to mRNA biology in vivo remains elusive. Recently, it was demonstrated that modifications such as N6-methyladenosine (m6A), N6,2’-O-dimethyladenosine (m6Am), pseudouridine (Ψ), and ribose 2′-O-methylation (Nm) are widespread on mRNA. Other modifications, such as N1-methyladenosine (m1A) and cytosine modifications, like 5-methylcytosine (m5C) and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (hm5C), also exist, but their relevance and presence is still controversial. Interestingly, some of the RNA modifications are not permanent; they can be removed allowing a fast response to different environmental or cellular conditions. Therefore, these modifications represent a novel level of gene expression regulation, one that led to the development of the “epitranscriptomics” field.

This Special Issue of Biology is focused on the biological functions of mRNA modifications and the molecular mechanisms underlying these functions. In particular, the scope includes the contribution of Drosophila melanogaster, as a genetic model, to the field of epitranscriptomics.

In this Special Issue, entitled “Drosophila: A Model to Study RNA Modification and Epitranscriptomics”, original research and review articles will give the readers an overview of the recent developments in the field.

Dr. Alessia Soldano
Guest Editor

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• Drosophila genetics
• epitranscriptomics
• mRNA modifications
• mRNA biology
• molecular mechanism
• mRNA stability
• mRNA translation