Decoding the epitranscriptome at single molecule resolution

Abstract

The dynamic deposition of chemical modifications into RNA is a crucial regulator of temporal and spatial accurate gene expression programs. A major difficulty in studying these modifications, however, is the need of tailored protocols to map each RNA modification individually. In this context, direct RNA nanopore sequencing (dRNA-seq) has emerged as a promising technology that can overcome these limitations, as it is in principle capable of mapping all RNA modifications simultaneously, in a quantitative manner, and in full-length native RNA reads. Here I will present the latest work on how we can use dRNA-seq to identify RNA modifications with single nucleotide and single molecule resolution, to then study the biological functions and dynamics of the epitranscriptome, their interplay with other regulatory layers, as well as to decipher how and why epitranscriptomic dysregulation is often associated to human disease.