FIG. 2.

A-to-I RNA editing affects multiple biochemical processes, thereby altering gene expression and function. Because I base pairs as G instead of A, nucleotide substitution of an A with an I may affect mRNA translation by altering a codon potentially leading to an amino acid substitution; RNA structure-dependent activities that trigger IFN responses may be suppressed if dsRNA structures are destabilized; the pre-mRNA splicing pattern of an RNA may be altered by editing a conserved A involved in splice site selection; RNA silencing may be altered by affecting dsRNA structures involved in either micro RNA processing or targeting; RNA virus genome stability may be altered by changing template and therefore complementary product sequences during viral RNA synthesis leading to A-to-G (U-to-C) transitions; and, A-to-I editing of noncoding repetitive (Alu) or nonrepetitive RNA elements may potentially affect RNA stability by altering cellular localization or nuclease recognition. Adapted from Samuel (2011).