eLife Study Reveals RNA Methylation Enzyme Mettl5 Regulates Sleep via Protein Homeostasis

A study published in eLife by researchers at the University of California, Riverside found that the RNA methylation enzyme Mettl5 coordinates protein production and degradation of the PERIOD clock gene to regulate sleep in Drosophila. Using RNA-seq and Ribo-seq analyses of Mettl5 mutants, the team identified dysregulation of clock genes and proteasome components. The findings reveal a mechanism coupling ribosome function, circadian clock genes, and the proteasome in sleep regulation. Mettl5 is associated with intellectual disability in humans, which often includes sleep disturbances. The study provides insights into the sleep phenotypes associated with ID and offers an in vivo model for studying rRNA methylation function.