DRACHassociated

DRACHassociated is a term used in RNA biology to describe features, regions, or data sets that relate to the DRACH motif in the context of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification. The DRACH motif is a five-nucleotide consensus sequence in which D stands for A, C, or U (not G), R stands for A or G, the central A is the methylation target, C is fixed, and H stands for A, C, or U (not G). The methylated adenosine typically occurs within this motif and is deposited by a methyltransferase complex led by METTL3 and METTL14, with auxiliary factors that help specify sites.

In this usage, DRACHassociated refers to genomic regions, transcripts, or data that either contain DRACH motif sequences and show evidence of m6A modification or exhibit regulatory outcomes linked to m6A at DRACH sites. DRACH-associated sites are often enriched in functional regions such as near stop codons and within 3' untranslated regions, where m6A can influence RNA stability, splicing, localization, and translation. Nevertheless, not every DRACH motif is methylated, and modification is dynamic, varying across cell types, developmental stages, and environmental conditions.

Researchers identify DRACH-associated features using epitranscriptomic methods such as MeRIP/m6A sequencing, miCLIP, or related approaches, often in combination with transcriptomic analyses. The concept helps frame how motif occurrence and methylation status converge to regulate RNA fate, while emphasizing that motif presence alone does not guarantee modification. DRACHassociated thus serves as a descriptive label for studies linking DRACH motif context to m6A-dependent regulation.