m6A RNA methylation in the maintenance of X-chromosome inactivation and X to autosome dosage compensation in early embryogenesis [MeRIP-Seq]

In addition, transcriptional upregulation balances the dosage of genes expressed from the single active-X to the double copy of autosomes in both sexes. However, the factors and mechanisms involved in the maintenance of X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) and X to autosome dosage compensation remain poorly understood.

In this study, we report the contribution of m6A RNA methylation in maintenance of XCI and X to autosome dosage compensation in early embryonic and extraembryonic lineages. In the study, we find that m6A RNA methylation has a minimal role to play in maintenance of silencing of the inactivated-X chromsoome in TSC, XEN and EpiSC . Moreover, we also show that the X-linked transcripts are less enriched with m6A than the autosomal transcripts suggesting its role in increased X-transcript stability and hence upregulation.