Natalia Wawrzyniak, Eduardo Eyras, Justin J.-L. Wong
{"title":"A critical appraisal of base-resolution m6A profiling techniques","authors":"Natalia Wawrzyniak, Eduardo Eyras, Justin J.-L. Wong","doi":"10.1016/j.tibs.2026.06.010","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tibs.2026.06.010","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>N<sup>6</sup>-methyladenosine (m<sup>6</sup>A) is the most prevalent internal modification in eukaryotic mRNA, influencing RNA fate and gene regulation. Early antibody-based approaches enabled transcriptome-wide profiling but lacked resolution and quantitative accuracy. Newer approaches now achieve base-resolution m<sup>6</sup>A detection using improved crosslinking, chemical or enzymatic conversion, and single-molecule sequencing. Antibody-free methods provide quantitative stoichiometry from minimal input, while nanopore direct RNA sequencing offers real-time, single-molecule readouts across entire transcriptomes. Collectively, these methods form a versatile toolkit that integrates global mapping with precise site-level analysis, advancing knowledge of context-dependent m<sup>6</sup>A regulation in physiology and disease. This review compares their principles, strengths, and limitations to guide method selection and highlight how next-generation epitranscriptomic tools are paving the way for clinical and therapeutic applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":440,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Biochemical Sciences","volume":"51 9","pages":"Pages 955-973"},"PeriodicalIF":14.4,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148468316","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Peptideins: Navigating the gray zone of the proteome","authors":"Giulia Pesce, Salvador Ventura","doi":"10.1016/j.tibs.2026.06.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tibs.2026.06.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Translated sequences are often treated as either genes or noise. A recent TransCODE Consortium study by <span><span>Deutsch <em>et al</em>.</span><svg><path></path></svg></span> introduces peptideins: endogenous proteins with evidence of synthesis but an unresolved biological status. This concept offers a cautious way to expand the human proteome while preserving the distinction between translation, molecular detection, and function.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":440,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Biochemical Sciences","volume":"51 9","pages":"Pages 862-864"},"PeriodicalIF":14.4,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148374136","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sarah Lewandowski, Lea Sophie Pommerening, Sutapa Chakrabarti
{"title":"Intrinsically disordered regions in eukaryotic mRNA decay pathways","authors":"Sarah Lewandowski, Lea Sophie Pommerening, Sutapa Chakrabarti","doi":"10.1016/j.tibs.2026.06.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tibs.2026.06.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Regulation of gene expression in cells is mediated by RNA-binding proteins (RBPs), which act as adaptors connecting messenger RNA (mRNA) to enzymatic and structural components to achieve a distinct functional outcome. RBPs are enriched in intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs). These regions mediate multivalent interactions that lead to the expansion of a physical and functional network in cells and, therefore, play a pivotal role in mRNA processing. In this review, we highlight the role of IDRs in eukaryotic mRNA decay. IDRs drive the assembly of transient mRNA–protein complexes essential for mRNA degradation and regulate the catalytic activities of enzymes involved therein. Beyond these functions, IDRs connect different pathways of targeted mRNA decay, building a global functional network that dictates gene expression.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":440,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Biochemical Sciences","volume":"51 9","pages":"Pages 910-923"},"PeriodicalIF":14.4,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148395218","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Advisory Board and Contents","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/S0968-0004(26)00256-2","DOIUrl":"10.1016/S0968-0004(26)00256-2","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":440,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Biochemical Sciences","volume":"51 9","pages":"Pages i-ii"},"PeriodicalIF":14.4,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148924669","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Prion-like proteins as facilitators of molecular memory in plants.","authors":"Jayde J Johnson, Heather M Meyer","doi":"10.1016/j.tibs.2026.08.005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibs.2026.08.005","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>As sessile organisms, plants rely on environmental cues to make key developmental decisions. These decisions are rarely based on a single time point but instead emerge through the integration of past and present experiences, a process broadly referred to as molecular memory. Canonical epigenetic mechanisms operating at the chromatin and RNA levels are often viewed as major drivers of plant molecular memory, yet whether plants also exploit changes in protein state remains an open and compelling question. In this opinion piece, we speculate that prion-like proteins (PrLPs) may function as memory molecules in plants. Through switchlike changes in conformation or assembly state, PrLPs may convert environmental experiences into persistent molecular states to enable future developmental responses.</p>","PeriodicalId":440,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Biochemical Sciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.4,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148872620","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rubén Prieto-Díaz, Aina Urbina, María Rodríguez-Ríos, Alessio Ciulli
{"title":"Linkerology in PROTACs: learnings for proximity-inducing therapeutics","authors":"Rubén Prieto-Díaz, Aina Urbina, María Rodríguez-Ríos, Alessio Ciulli","doi":"10.1016/j.tibs.2026.07.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tibs.2026.07.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Targeted protein degradation has rapidly evolved from a chemical biology concept into a therapeutic modality, with the first proteolysis-targeting chimera (PROTAC) degrader now approved as a medicine. Linkers play a central role in governing ternary complex formation and conferring drug-like properties on bifunctional compounds. However, linker optimisation remains one of the least rationalised steps in degrader design. In this review, we introduce a linkerology framework that integrates a data-driven analysis of PROTAC linker chemotypes with historical context, representative case studies, emerging proximity-based modalities, and clinical-stage trends. We reveal persistent biases in the explored linker space and identify linker features that are preferentially retained in clinical-stage degraders. Together, these insights position linkerology as a central discipline in PROTAC design and provide guidance for the development of next-generation proximity-based therapeutics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":440,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Biochemical Sciences","volume":"51 9","pages":"Pages 868-895"},"PeriodicalIF":14.4,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148648117","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Subscription and Copyright Information","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/S0968-0004(26)00259-8","DOIUrl":"10.1016/S0968-0004(26)00259-8","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":440,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Biochemical Sciences","volume":"51 9","pages":"Page e1"},"PeriodicalIF":14.4,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148924668","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Suchismita Masanta, Kevork Wakimian, Maciej Cieśla
{"title":"Phosphorylation-controlled nuclear speckle dynamics regulate splicing","authors":"Suchismita Masanta, Kevork Wakimian, Maciej Cieśla","doi":"10.1016/j.tibs.2026.05.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tibs.2026.05.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding how the spliceosome integrates regulatory cues to generate RNA diversity remains a central question in gene expression control. Emerging evidence reveals a multilayered framework in which splicing is governed by nuclear architecture and the physical state of nuclear speckles. These condensates function as phosphorylation-sensitive hubs that concentrate splicing machinery and couple signaling pathways to RNA processing. Chromatin organization, transcript architecture, and condensate properties are tightly coordinated, adding spatial constraints to spliceosome function. Recent findings further uncover temporal regulation through cell cycle and ultradian dynamics of speckle assembly. In this review, we synthesize these advances and propose a unified model in which charge-dependent phosphorylation of splicing factors drives condensate remodeling, linking nuclear organization to regulated splicing outcomes across space and time.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":440,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Biochemical Sciences","volume":"51 9","pages":"Pages 896-909"},"PeriodicalIF":14.4,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148194502","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}