Yunqiao Han, Kui Sun, Shanshan Yu, Yayun Qin, Zuxiao Zhang, Jiong Luo, Hualei Hu, Liyan Dai, Manman Cui, Chaolin Jiang, Fei Liu, Yuwen Huang, Pan Gao, Xiang Chen, Tianqing Xin, Xiang Ren, Xiaoyan Wu, Jieping Song, Qing Wang, Zhaohui Tang, Jianjun Chen, Haojian Zhang, Xianqin Zhang, Mugen Liu, Daji Luo
Prenatal lethality associated with mouse knockout of Mettl16, a recently identified RNA N6-methyladenosine (m6 A) methyltransferase, has hampered characterization of the essential role of METTL16-mediated RNA m6 A modification in early embryonic development. Here, using cross-species single-cell RNA sequencing analysis, we found that during early embryonic development, METTL16 is more highly expressed in vertebrate hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) than other methyltransferases. In Mettl16-deficient zebrafish, proliferation capacity of embryonic HSPCs is compromised due to G1/S cell cycle arrest, an effect whose rescue requires Mettl16 with intact methyltransferase activity...
April 11, 2024: EMBO Journal