Qi Zhong; Jingyi Guo & Shuyi Chen

The Mettl3/Mettl14 methyltransferase complex installs the most ubiquitous internal mRNA modification- N6-methyladenosine (m6A). The vertebrate retina development is a multi-step process that requires fine-tuning of multiple cellular events, but very little is known about the potential function of Mettl3 and Mettl14 in this process. In this study, we demonstrated the spatio-temporal expression of Mettl3 and Mettl14 during retina development in mouse by quantitative PCR and immunofluorescence staining. We found that these two components of methyltransferase complex could be detected from the beginning of retina development; and the expression of Mettl3 and Mettl14 were gradually restricted to inner nuclear layer (INL) and ganglion cell layer (GCL); Double labeling showed that Mettl3 and Mettl14 had similar expression patterns in mature retinal INL and GCL. Overall, our spatio-temporal expression data provided the foundation for future research on the function of m6A modification in the retina development.

KEY WORDS: m6A methyltransferase; Mettl3; Mettl14; Retinogenesis; Expression.

ZHONG, Q.; GUO, J. & CHEN, S. Spatio-temporal expression profile of Mettl3/Mettl14 during mouse retina development. Int. J. Morphol., 38(6):1668-1675, 2020.