Decoding the atlas of RNA modifications from epitranscriptome sequencing data

Abstract

Over 100 types of chemical modifications have been identified in protein-coding and noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs). However, the prevalence, regulation, and function of diverse RNA modifications remain largely unknown. In this chapter, we describe how to annotate, visualize, and analyze the RNA modification sites from the high-throughput epitranscriptome sequencing data using RMBase platform and software. We developed two stand-alone computational software, modAnnotator and metaProfile, to annotate and visualize RNA modification sites and their prevalence in the gene body. In addition, we constructed interactive web implementations to decode the atlas of various RNA modifications, including the N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification, pseudouridine (Ψ) modification, 5-methylcytosine (m5C) modification, and 2′-O-methylation (2′-O-Me) modification, as well as other types of modifications. We also developed web-based interfaces to analyze the associations between RNA modification sites with miRNA target sites and disease-related single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Moreover, RMBase provides a genome browser and a web-based modTool to query, annotate, and visualize various RNA modifications. RMBase is expected to provide comprehensive interfaces and tools to facilitate the analysis and functional study of the massive RNA modification sites. The software and platform are available at http://rna.sysu.edu.cn/rmbase/modSoftware.php.