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Abstract Background N 6 -methyladenosine (m 6 A) mRNA modification is essential for mammalian and plant viability. The U6 m 6 A methyltransferases in other species regulate S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) homeostasis through installing m 6 A in pre-mRNAs of SAM synthetases. However, U6 m 6 A methyltransferase has not been characterized in Arabidopsis and little is known about its role in regulating photomorphogenesis and flowering. Results Here we characterize that FIONA1 is an Arabidopsis U6 m 6 A methyltransferase that installs m 6 A in U6 snRNA and a small subset of poly(A) + RNA. Disruption of FIONA1 leads to phytochrome signaling-dependent hypocotyl elongation and photoperiod-independent early flowering. Distinct from mammalian METTL16 and worm METT-10, FIONA1 neither installs m 6 A in the mRNAs of Arabidopsis SAM synthetases nor affects their transcript expression levels under normal or high SAM conditions. We confirm that FIONA1 can methylate plant mRNA m 6 A motifs in vitro and in vivo. We further show that FIONA1 installs m 6 A in several phenotypic related transcripts, thereby affecting downstream mRNA stability and regulating phytochrome signaling and floral transition. Conclusion FIONA1 is functional as a U6 m 6 A methyltransferase in Arabidopsis, distinct from mammalian METTL16 and worm METT-10. Our results demonstrate that FIONA1-mediated m 6 A post-transcriptional regulation is an autonomous regulator for flowering and phytochrome signaling-dependent photomorphogenesis.
Wang et al. (Mon,) studied this question.