Regulatory Mechanisms and Functions of Plant RNA Acetylation Modification

doi:10.13560/j.cnki.biotech.bull.1985.2026-0121

Abstract

Abstract:

N⁴ -acetylcytidine (ac⁴C) modification is a chemical modification formed by the addition of an acetyl group to the nitrogen atom at position 4 of cytidine. It is widely distributed in various types of RNA molecules, including ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and transfer RNA (tRNA). In recent years, studies have revealed that ac⁴C also exists in messenger RNA (mRNA) as a novel mRNA modification with relatively low abundance. The ac⁴C modification is mainly catalyzed by the RNA acetyltransferase N-acetyltransferase 10 (NAT10) and plays vital regulatory roles in key biological processes such as ribosome biogenesis, codon recognition, and mRNA translation. In plant mRNAs, ac⁴C is predominantly enriched in the 5' untranslated region (5' UTR) near the start codon, and this modification can significantly enhance mRNA stability and translation efficiency. In model plants and crops such as Arabidopsis thaliana and rice, ac⁴C modification participates in regulating multiple biological processes including leaf development, photosynthetic efficiency, fruit ripening, and biotic stress responses. Currently, research on ac⁴C modification is limited by detection technologies. Existing ac⁴C detection methods (such as acRIP-seq and ac⁴C-seq) yield inconsistent results, leading to ongoing controversies regarding the abundance and function of ac⁴C on mRNA. This review summarizes the distribution characteristics of ac⁴C and the functions of the RNA acetyltransferase NAT10, compares the advantages and disadvantages of different ac⁴C detection techniques, discusses the physiological functions and molecular mechanisms of ac⁴C in plants, and prospects the challenges and future directions in this field. This review not only provides a theoretical basis for further dissecting the dynamic regulatory network and molecular mechanisms of ac⁴C, but also offers references for promoting crop genetic improvement based on RNA modifications.

Key words: RNA acetylation, translation efficiency, leaf development, photosynthetic efficiency

GONG Meng-meng, WANG Shuai-bin, HE Yi-fan, GAO Jun-ping, HE Xin-xi, PENG Yu, PU Wen-xuan, HE Chong-sheng. Regulatory Mechanisms and Functions of Plant RNA Acetylation Modification[J]. Biotechnology Bulletin, 2026, 42(8): 1-7.

Figures/Tables 2

References 32

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方法 Method	分辨率 Resolution	灵敏度 Sensitivity	局限性 Limitation	推荐对照 Recommended control	参考文献 Reference
acRIP-seq	低	高	依赖于抗体	nat10突变体	［5-6］
ac⁴C-seq	高	低	依赖于硼氢化物还原反应，灵敏度不足	Mock处理样本	［22］
DRS	高	高	需要训练集进行模型校正易受RNA二级结构干扰	nat10突变体	［23］
FAM-seq	高	较高	操作复杂，不适用所有样品易受RNA二级结构干扰	Mock处理样本	［24］
PACES	高	/	准确性较低预测结果须通过实验验证	独立ac⁴C测序结果	［25］

方法 Method	分辨率 Resolution	灵敏度 Sensitivity	局限性 Limitation	推荐对照 Recommended control	参考文献 Reference
acRIP-seq	低	高	依赖于抗体	nat10突变体	［5-6］
ac⁴C-seq	高	低	依赖于硼氢化物还原反应，灵敏度不足	Mock处理样本	［22］
DRS	高	高	需要训练集进行模型校正易受RNA二级结构干扰	nat10突变体	［23］
FAM-seq	高	较高	操作复杂，不适用所有样品易受RNA二级结构干扰	Mock处理样本	［24］
PACES	高	/	准确性较低预测结果须通过实验验证	独立ac⁴C测序结果	［25］