Volume 31, No 8, Aug 2021

ISSN: 1001-0602 
EISSN: 1748-7838 2018 
impact factor 17.848* 
(Clarivate Analytics, 2019)

Volume 31 Issue 8, August 2021: 829-831

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

Nascent RNA m6A modification at the heart of the gene–retrotransposon conflict

Victor Billon , Gael Cristofari^*

Université Côte d’Azur, Inserm, CNRS, IRCAN, Nice, France
Correspondence: Gael Cristofari(Gael.Cristofari@univ-cotedazur.fr)

Retrotransposons are highly abundant mobile genetic elements in mammalian genomes and can interfere with many genomic processes, particularly the transcription of genes. A study by Xiong et al. reveals that segments of nascent RNAs containing retrotransposons are enriched in N 6 -methyladenosine and act as transcriptional roadblocks for elongating RNA polymerase II, but that cellular proteins capable of binding to these RNAs, SAFB/SAFB2, can mitigate this effect.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41422-021-00518-5

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