iRNA-Methyl: Identifying N-methyladenosine sites using pseudo nucleotide composition

Occurring at adenine (A) with the consensus motif GAC, N⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A) is one of the most abundant modifications in RNA, which plays very important roles in many biological processes. The nonuniform distribution of m⁶A sites across the genome implies that, for better understanding the regulatory mechanism of m⁶A, it is indispensable to characterize its sites in a genome-wide scope. Although a series of experimental technologies have been developed in this regard, they are both time-consuming and expensive. With the avalanche of RNA sequences generated in the postgenomic age, it is highly desired to develop computational methods to timely identify their m⁶A sites. In view of this, a predictor called “iRNA-Methyl” is proposed by formulating RNA sequences with the “pseudo dinucleotide composition” into which three RNA physiochemical properties were incorporated. Rigorous cross-validation tests have indicated that iRNA-Methyl holds very high potential to become a useful tool for genome analysis. For the convenience of most experimental scientists, a web-server for iRNA-Methyl has been established at http://lin.uestc.edu.cn/server/iRNA-Methyl by which users can easily get their desired results without needing to go through the mathematical details.