Onur Akkus

Mr. Onur Akkus


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

3Years (2024-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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6 November 2024 in Cells
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
BSBuket Sağlam
Buket Sağlam
OAOnur Akkus
Onur Akkus
AAAzime AKCAOZ ALASAR
Azime AKCAOZ ALASAR
ÇCÇağatay Ceylan
Çağatay Ceylan
GGGünnur Güler
Günnur Güler
BABünyamin Akgül
Bünyamin Akgül
RNA methylation adds a second layer of genetic information that dictates the post-transcriptional fate of RNAs. Although various methods exist that enable the analysis of RNA methylation in a site-specific or transcriptome-wide manner, whether biophysical approaches can be employed to such analyses is unexplored. In this study, Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy are employed to examine the methylation status of both synthetic and cellular RNAs. The results show that FT-IR spectroscopy is perfectly capable of quantitatively distinguishing synthetic m6A-methylated RNAs from un-methylated ones. Subsequently, FT-IR spectroscopy is successfully employed to assess the changes in the extent of total RNA methylation upon the knockdown of the m6A writer, METTL3, in HeLa cells. In addition, the same approach is shown to accurately detect reduction in total RNA methylation upon the treatment of HeLa cells with tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). It is also demonstrated that m1A and m6A methylation induce quite a distinct secondary structure on RNAs, as evident from CD spectra. These results strongly suggest that both FT-IR and CD spectroscopy methods can be exploited to uncover biophysical properties impinged on RNAs by methyl moieties, providing a fast, convenient and cheap alternative to the existing methods.