FAQ: Is APOBEC3A (NEB #M0648) active on RNA?

While APOBEC3A has previously been shown to be active on RNA^1,2, we do not observe any APOBEC3A activity on an RNA substrate under our tested conditions (1 μg (156 pmol) of C-containing 20-mer RNA is incubated with 16 units of APOBEC3A for 2 hours at 37°C in 1X Deamination Reaction Buffer). Therefore, we do not recommend APOBEC3A for deamination of RNA substrates.

1. Barka, A. et. al. The Base-Editing Enzyme APOBEC3A Catalyzies Cytosine Deamination in RNA with Low Proficiency and High Selectivity. (2022) ACS Chem Biol. 17 (3) 629-636. https://doi.org/10.1021/acschembio.1c00919.


2. Sharma, S. et al. APOBEC3A cytidine deaminase induces RNA editing in monocytes and macrophages. (2015) Nat Commun. 6, 6881. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms7881.