Figure 1

The establishment and role of m ⁶ A RNA methylation in development. (a) RNA methylation is dynamically regulated and impacts various aspects of RNA metabolism. The m⁶A marker is created by the activity of the m⁶A methyltransferase complex (METTL3-METTL14), and the methyl group can be reversibly removed by m⁶A demethylases; the modification can be recognized by m⁶A-binding proteins to effect biological functions. (b) Divergent effects of depletion through knockout (KO) of the N6-adenosine-methyltransferase subunit METTL3 during naïve and primed pluripotent states. As m⁶A reduces the stability of methylated transcripts, depletion of METTL3 in naïve pluripotent cells further upregulates the already-high naïve pluripotency genes to create a ‘hyper’-naïve pluripotent state, whereas depletion during the primed state further boosts the dominating lineage-commitment factors and tips the balance towards differentiation.