Cellular transcriptomes are frequently adorned by a variety of chemical modification marks, which in turn have a profound influence on its functioning. Of these modifications, the one which has invited a lot of attention in the recent years is m6A RNA methylation, leading to the development of RNA epigenetics or epitranscriptomics as a frontier research area. m6A RNA methylation is one of the most abundant reversible internal modification seen in cellular RNAs. Studies in the last few years have not only shed light on the molecular machinery involved in m6A RNA methylation but also on the impact of this modification in regulating gene expression and hence biological processes. In this review, we will emphasize the biological impact of this modification in normal organismal development and diseases.

细胞转录组经常被各种化学修饰标记装饰，这反过来又对其功能产生深远的影响。在这些修饰中，近年来引起广泛关注的是 m6A RNA 甲基化，导致 RNA 表观遗传学或表观转录组学作为前沿研究领域的发展。m6A RNA 甲基化是细胞 RNA 中最丰富的可逆内部修饰之一。过去几年的研究不仅阐明了 m6A RNA 甲基化所涉及的分子机制，而且阐明了这种修饰对调节基因表达和生物学过程的影响。在这篇综述中，我们将强调这种修饰对正常机体发育和疾病的生物学影响。