4 DISCUSSION
A promising new area of RNA epigenetic research has emerged following the identification of m6A modifications in numerous organisms. We are only beginning to understand the m6A modification’s involvement in this processes (Shinde et al., 2023). In this study, we focused on the most important and destructive pest influencing rice production, that is, BPH, to investigate the effect of BPH infestation on rice m6A methylation and the relationship between m6A and the expression of target gene bodies involved in plant defense and growth, thereby revealing its overall regulatory patterns (Figure 7). To the best of our knowledge, no studies has been previously reported in plants coping with herbivore stress.