GLORI for absolute quantification of transcriptome-wide m 6 A at single-base resolution.
Weiguo ShenHanxiao SunCong LiuYunpeng YiYongkang HouYe XiaoYufei HuBo LuJinying PengJing WangChengqi YiPublished in: Nature protocols (2024)
N 6 -methyladenosine (m 6 A) is the most abundant posttranscriptional chemical modification in mRNA, involved in regulating various physiological and pathological processes throughout mRNA metabolism. Recently, we developed GLORI, a sequencing method that enables the production of a globally absolute-quantitative m 6 A map at single-base resolution. Our technique utilizes the glyoxal- and nitrite-based chemical reaction, which selectively deaminates unmethylated adenosines while leaving m 6 A intact. The RNA library can then be prepared using a modified library construction protocol from enhanced UV crosslinking and immunoprecipitation (eCLIP) or commercial kits. Here we provide a detailed protocol for proper RNA sample handling and provide further guidelines for the use of a tailored bioinformatics pipeline (GLORI-tools) for subsequent data analysis. Compared with current methods, this new method is both exceptionally sensitive and robust, capable of identifying ~80,000 m 6 A sites with 50 Gb sequencing data in mammalian cells. It also provides a quantitative readout for m 6 A sites at single-base resolution. We hope the technique will provide a precise and unbiased tool for investigating m 6 A biology across various fields. Basic expertise in molecular biology and knowledge of bioinformatics are required for the protocol. The entire procedure can be completed within a week, with the library construction process taking ~4 d.