Direct detection of RNA modifications and structure using single molecule nanopore sequencing

Many methods exist to detect RNA modifications by short-read sequencing, relying on either antibody enrichment of transcripts bearing modified bases or mutational profiling approaches which require conversion to cDNA. Endogenous modifications are present on several major classes of RNA including tRNA, rRNA and mRNA and can modulate diverse biological processes such as genetic recoding, mRNA export and RNA folding. In addition, exogenous modifications can be introduced to RNA molecules to reveal RNA structure and dynamics. Limitations on read length and library size inherent in short-read-based methods dissociate modifications from their native context, preventing single molecule analysis and modification phasing.

Here we demonstrate direct RNA nanopore sequencing to detect endogenous and exogenous RNA modifications over long sequence distance at the single molecule level.

We demonstrate comprehensive detection of endogenous modifications in E. coli and S. cerevisiae ribosomal RNA (rRNA) using current signal deviations. Notably 2’-O-methyl (Nm) modifications generated a discernible shift in current signal and event level dwell times. We show that dwell times are mediated by the RNA motor protein which sits atop the nanopore. Further, we characterize a recently described small adduct-generating 2’-O-acylation reagent, acetylimidazole (AcIm) for exogenously labeling flexible nucleotides in RNA. Finally, we demonstrate the utility of AcIm for single molecule RNA structural probing using nanopore sequencing.