Analytical Methods for Deciphering RNA Modifications.

RNA molecules harbor various levels of diverse chemical modifications. So far, more than 150 structurally distinct modifications have been identified in cellular RNAs. Different with previous views that these modifications are mostly static, recent advances demonstrate a much more dynamic landscape of RNA modifications. The diverse and dynamic modifications do not affect RNA sequence, but they exert essential and critical influences in a variety of cellular processes in eukaryotic organisms. In addition to maintaining structure and catalytic activity, RNA modifications have been considered to serve as additional layer of information carrier on regulating cell physiology, indicating a previously invisible code that is outside their sequences.