RNA N⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A) modifications are essential in plants. Here, we show that transgenic expression of the human RNA demethylase FTO in rice caused a more than threefold increase in grain yield under greenhouse conditions. In field trials, transgenic expression of FTO in rice and potato caused ~50% increases in yield and biomass. We demonstrate that the presence of FTO stimulates root meristem cell proliferation and tiller bud formation and promotes photosynthetic efficiency and drought tolerance but has no effect on mature cell size, shoot meristem cell proliferation, root diameter, plant height or ploidy. FTO mediates substantial m⁶A demethylation (around 7% of demethylation in poly(A) RNA and around 35% decrease of m⁶A in non-ribosomal nuclear RNA) in plant RNA, inducing chromatin openness and transcriptional activation. Therefore, modulation of plant RNA m⁶A methylation is a promising strategy to dramatically improve plant growth and crop yield.

RNA N ⁶ -甲基腺苷 (m ⁶ A) 修饰在植物中是必不可少的。在这里，我们展示了人类 RNA 去甲基化酶 FTO 在水稻中的转基因表达导致温室条件下谷物产量增加了三倍以上。在田间试验中，FTO 在水稻和马铃薯中的转基因表达导致产量和生物量增加约 50%。我们证明 FTO 的存在刺激根分生组织细胞增殖和分蘖芽形成，并促进光合效率和耐旱性，但对成熟细胞大小、芽分生组织细胞增殖、根直径、株高或倍性没有影响。FTO 介导大量的 m ⁶ A 去甲基化（poly(A) RNA 中约 7% 的去甲基化和 m ^{6约 35% 的减少}A in non-ribosomal nuclear RNA) in plant RNA, 诱导染色质开放和转录激活。因此，调节植物 RNA m ⁶ A 甲基化是显着提高植物生长和作物产量的有前途的策略。