The m6A regulatory network in plant stress adaptation: from mechanisms to breeding potential
4 affiliations
- 1Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Osmanthus fragrans, Hubei University of Science and Technology
- 2College of Landscape Architecture, Central South University of Forestry and Technology
- 3School of Pharmacy, Hubei University of Science and Technology
- 4School of Nuclear Technology and Chemistry & Biology, Hubei University of Science and Technology
Abstract
N ⁶ -methyladenosine (m ⁶ A) is the most abundant internal modification of eukaryotic mRNA and is dynamically regulated by three classes of proteins: writers, erasers, and readers. Writers deposit methylation marks, erasers confer reversibility, and readers translate these signals into specific regulatory outcomes, collectively modulating mRNA stability, translation efficiency, splicing, and polyadenylation, thereby influencing plant stress adaptation. Studies across diverse plant species have revealed both conserved principles and species-specific variations in this regulatory network. Technological advances, such as methylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (MeRIP-seq) and nanopore direct RNA sequencing, have enabled transcriptome-wide m ⁶ A profiling. However, functional validation of m ⁶ A modification in most crops remains limited to a few model species and controlled environments, and their practical breeding potential requires systematic evaluation. This review systematically summarizes the functions of m ⁶ A writers, erasers, and readers in crop stress responses, synthesizes the regulatory patterns at the levels of mRNA stability, translation efficiency, and splicing and discusses m ⁶ A-based breeding strategies and their current bottlenecks, providing a theoretical reference for stress-resilient crop breeding. CRISPR/dCas13-based targeted modification systems, together with methyltransferase overexpression or demethylase knockout strategies, have demonstrated breeding potential in several crops, although field-level validation remains limited. Future research needs to prioritize how the writer-eraser-reader network achieves stress-specific regulation without causing pleiotropic developmental defects, how m ⁶ A pattern differs between single and combined stresses, and how natural variation in m ⁶ A regulatory gene can be exploited for breeding. On this basis, establishing causal links between specific m ⁶ A sites and agronomic phenotypes, while integrating multi-omics approaches and precision editing technologies, will be essential to translate epitranscriptomic knowledge into crop improvement.
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BibTeX
@article{zhang2026regulatory,
title = {{The m6A regulatory network in plant stress adaptation: from mechanisms to breeding potential}},
author = {Jun Zhang and Sainan Jiang and Jie Yang and Jingjing Zou and Wen Xing and Zeqing Li},
journal = {Frontiers in Plant Science},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fpls.2026.1940258},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2026.1940258/full},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The m6A regulatory network in plant stress adaptation: from mechanisms to breeding potential
AU - Jun Zhang
AU - Sainan Jiang
AU - Jie Yang
AU - Jingjing Zou
AU - Wen Xing
AU - Zeqing Li
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
JO - Frontiers in Plant Science
DO - 10.3389/fpls.2026.1940258
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2026.1940258/full
AB - N ⁶ -methyladenosine (m ⁶ A) is the most abundant internal modification of eukaryotic mRNA and is dynamically regulated by three classes of proteins: writers, erasers, and readers. Writers deposit methylation marks, erasers confer reversibility, and readers translate these signals into specific regulatory outcomes, collectively modulating mRNA stability, translation efficiency, splicing, and polyadenylation, thereby influencing plant stress adaptation. Studies across diverse plant species have revealed both conserved principles and species-specific variations in this regulatory network. Technological advances, such as methylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (MeRIP-seq) and nanopore direct RNA sequencing, have enabled transcriptome-wide m ⁶ A profiling. However, functional validation of m ⁶ A modification in most crops remains limited to a few model species and controlled environments, and their practical breeding potential requires systematic evaluation. This review systematically summarizes the functions of m ⁶ A writers, erasers, and readers in crop stress responses, synthesizes the regulatory patterns at the levels of mRNA stability, translation efficiency, and splicing and discusses m ⁶ A-based breeding strategies and their current bottlenecks, providing a theoretical reference for stress-resilient crop breeding. CRISPR/dCas13-based targeted modification systems, together with methyltransferase overexpression or demethylase knockout strategies, have demonstrated breeding potential in several crops, although field-level validation remains limited. Future research needs to prioritize how the writer-eraser-reader network achieves stress-specific regulation without causing pleiotropic developmental defects, how m ⁶ A pattern differs between single and combined stresses, and how natural variation in m ⁶ A regulatory gene can be exploited for breeding. On this basis, establishing causal links between specific m ⁶ A sites and agronomic phenotypes, while integrating multi-omics approaches and precision editing technologies, will be essential to translate epitranscriptomic knowledge into crop improvement.
SN - 1664-462X
ER -