TRIBE-STAMP reveals new insights into the functions of RNA binding proteins

RNA binding proteins (RBPs) are important players in RNA metabolism and gene regulation. In this issue of Genes & Development, Flamand and colleagues (pp. 1002–1015) developed a new method (TRIBE-STAMP) that detects binding events by two distinct RBPs on single mRNA molecules, which they first applied to the YTHDF family of N(6)-methyladenosine (m(6)A) reader proteins. The investigators show that these RBPs largely share a common pool of bound transcripts and that an individual mRNA may be bound by multiple YTHDF proteins throughout its lifetime. This single-molecule technique is an exciting new method to study potential synergy and/or antagonism between different RBPs.