ALBA proteins facilitate cytoplasmic YTHDF-mediated reading of m6A in plants

Abstract

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) exerts many of its regulatory effects on eukaryotic mRNAs by recruiting cytoplasmic YT521-B homology domain family (YTHDF) proteins. Here, we show that in Arabidopsis, the interaction between m6A and the major YTHDF protein ECT2 also involves the mRNA-binding ALBA protein family. ALBA and YTHDF proteins physically associate via a deeply conserved short linear motif in the intrinsically disordered region of YTHDF proteins, their mRNA target sets overlap, and ALBA4 binding sites are juxtaposed to m6A sites. These binding sites correspond to pyrimidine-rich elements previously found to be important for m6A binding of ECT2. Accordingly, both biological functions of ECT2 and its binding to m6A targets in vivo require ALBA association. Our results introduce the YTHDF-ALBA complex as the functional cytoplasmic m6A-reader in plants and define a molecular foundation for the concept of facilitated m6A reading that increases the potential for combinatorial control of biological m6A effects.