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Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) are abundant and heterogenous groups of integrated retroviral sequences that affect genome regulation and cell physiology throughout their RNA-centred life cycle. Failure to repress ERVs is associated with cancer, infertility, senescence and neurodegenerative diseases^,. Here, using an unbiased genome-scale CRISPR knockout screen in mouse embryonic stem cells, we identify m⁶A RNA methylation as a way to restrict ERVs. Methylation of ERV mRNAs is catalysed by the complex of methyltransferase-like METTL3–METTL14 proteins, and we found that depletion of METTL3–METTL14, along with their accessory subunits WTAP and ZC3H13, led to increased mRNA abundance of intracisternal A-particles (IAPs) and related ERVK elements specifically, by targeting their 5′ untranslated region. Using controlled auxin-dependent degradation of the METTL3–METTL14 enzymatic …