Over 170 chemical modifications can be naturally installed on RNA, all of which are catalyzed by dedicated machineries. These modifications can alter RNA sequence structure, stability, and translation as well as serving as quality control marks that record aspects of RNA processing. The diverse roles played by RNAs within cells has motivated endeavors to exogenously introduce RNA modifications at target sites for diverse purposes ranging from recording RNA:protein interactions to therapeutic applications. Here, we discuss these applications and the approaches that have been employed to engineer RNA-modifying machineries, and highlight persisting challenges and perspectives.

RNA 上可以自然安装超过 170 种化学修饰，所有这些都由专用机器催化。这些修饰可以改变 RNA 序列结构、稳定性和翻译，并作为记录 RNA 加工各方面的质量控制标记。 RNA 在细胞内发挥的不同作用促使人们努力在靶位点引入外源性 RNA 修饰，以实现从记录 RNA：蛋白质相互作用到治疗应用等多种目的。在这里，我们讨论这些应用和用于设计 RNA 修饰机制的方法，并强调持续存在的挑战和观点。