Structural and Mechanistic Insights into Enzymes Governing RNA Modification and Processing

RNA biology encompasses a complex post-transcriptional regulatory landscape in which RNA-modifying and RNA-processing enzymes control transcript maturation, stability, localization, turnover, and function. Although epitranscriptomics has revealed how chemical modifications influence RNA fate, these modifications operate within broader networks involving RNA cleavage, remodeling, surveillance, and degradation. A central challenge is to understand how RNA-targeting enzymes recognize diverse substrates, achieve catalytic specificity, and integrate signals from cellular defense and RNA immunity pathways. Recent structural, biochemical, and biophysical studies have provided important insights into catalytic architectures, substrate recognition, conformational dynamics, and the contributions of cofactors and protein–protein interactions. Advances in cryo-electron microscopy, X-ray crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance, and quantitative biochemistry are now enabling increasingly detailed analyses of dynamic enzyme–RNA assemblies. However, major gaps remain in connecting static structures with catalytic mechanisms, explaining how enzyme activities are regulated in native molecular environments, and defining how evolutionary conservation and structural diversification shape RNA metabolism.This Research Topic aims to define the molecular principles governing RNA modification and processing by integrating structural, mechanistic, and biophysical perspectives. It will examine how enzymes recognize RNA substrates, coordinate catalysis, undergo conformational changes, and respond to cofactors, partner proteins, and regulatory signals. Particular emphasis will be placed on identifying the determinants of substrate specificity and understanding how modification, cleavage, remodeling, and degradation pathways are coordinated. The Research Topic will also address how these mechanisms contribute to RNA quality control, cellular defense, and the evolution of RNA regulatory systems.To gather further insights into the atomic and mechanistic basis of RNA modification and processing, this Research Topic will focus on naturally occurring RNA-targeting enzymes and their regulatory complexes, while encompassing diverse biological systems and experimental approaches. We welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:- Structural mechanisms of RNA-modifying enzymes- Molecular recognition and substrate specificity- RNA cleavage, remodeling, surveillance, and degradation- Conformational dynamics and catalytic transitions- Roles of cofactors, partner proteins, and higher-order assemblies- Interactions between epitranscriptomic and RNA-processing pathways- RNA immunity and cellular defense mechanisms- Evolutionary conservation and diversification of RNA-targeting enzymes- Cryo-electron microscopy, crystallography, NMR, and advanced biochemical approaches- Mechanistic studies of enzyme–RNA complexes in native biological contexts Topic editors: Pascale Legault, Malik Chaker-Margot Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/81475/structural-and-mechanistic-insights-into-enzymes-governing-rna-modification-and-processing