A-to-I RNA editing occurs at over a hundred million genomic sites, located in a majority of human genes

RNA molecules transmit the information encoded in the genome and generally reflect its content. Adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing by ADAR proteins converts a genomically encoded adenosine into inosine. It is known that most RNA editing in human takes place in the primate-specific Alu sequences, but the extent of this phenomenon and its effect on transcriptome diversity are not yet clear. Here, we analyzed large-scale RNA-seq data and detected ∼1.6 million editing sites. As detection sensitivity increases with sequencing coverage, we performed ultradeep sequencing of selected Alu sequences and showed that the scope of editing is much larger than anticipated. We found that virtually all adenosines within…

• IS
  Israel Science Foundation

  Award: 41/11
• IC
  Israeli Centers for Research Excellence

  Award: 41/11
• PA
  Planning and Budgeting Committee of the Council for Higher Education of Israel

  Award: 41/11