m6A mRNA modification regulates mammalian spermatogenesis

Abstract

Mammalian spermatogenesis is a highly specialized differentiation process involving precise regulatory mechanisms at the transcriptional, posttranscriptional, and translational levels. Emerging evidence has shown that N⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A), an epitranscriptomic regulator of gene expression, can influence pre-mRNA splicing, mRNA export, turnover, and translation, which are controlled in the male germline to ensure coordinated gene expression. In this review, we summarize the typical features of m⁶A RNA modification on mRNA during male germline development, and highlight the function of writers, erasers, and readers of m⁶A during mouse spermatogenesis.