m6A mRNA modification regulates mammalian spermatogenesis.

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.