Recent discoveries of reversible N(6)-methyladenosine (m(6)A) methylation on 
messenger RNA (mRNA) and mapping of m(6)A methylomes in mammals and yeast have 
revealed potential regulatory functions of this RNA modification. In plants, 
defects in m(6)A methyltransferase cause an embryo-lethal phenotype, suggesting 
a critical role of m(6)A in plant development. Here, we profile m(6)A 
transcriptome-wide in two accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana and reveal that 
m(6)A is a highly conserved modification of mRNA in plants. Distinct from 
mammals, m(6)A in A. thaliana is enriched not only around the stop codon and 
within 3'-untranslated regions, but also around the start codon. Gene ontology 
analysis indicates that the unique distribution pattern of m(6)A in A. thaliana 
is associated with plant-specific pathways involving the chloroplast. We also 
discover a positive correlation between m(6)A deposition and mRNA abundance, 
suggesting a regulatory role of m(6)A in plant gene expression.