title: Putative DNA-(amino)methyltransferases in eucaryotes.
abstract: By computer analysis of the known data bases, we have established that the open reading frames (ORF) coding for proteins that possess high degree of homology with procaryotic DNA-(amino)methyltransferases are present in the genomes of Leishmania major, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Arabidopsis thaliana, Drosophila melanogaster, Caenorhabditis elegans, and Homo sapiens. Conservative motifs typical for bacterial DNA-(amino)methyltransferases are detected in the amino acid sequences of these putative proteins. The ORF of all putative eucaryotic DNA-(amino)methyltransferases found are encoded in nuclear DNA. In mitochondrial genomes including a few fully sequenced higher plant mtDNA, nucleotide sequences significantly homologous to genes of procaryotic DNA-(amino)methyltransferases are not found. Thus, ORF homologous to bacterial adenine DNA-methyltransferases are present in nuclei of protozoa, yeasts, insects, nematodes, vertebrates, higher plants, and other eucaryotes. A special search for corresponding proteins and, in particular, adenine DNA-methyltransferases in these organisms and a study of their functions are quite promising.
authors.affiliation: Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119899, Russia.
authors.forename: B Y
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Shorning
authors.forename: B F
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: Vanyushin
mesh_terms: D000225:Adenine / Q000737:chemistry*; D020816:Amino Acid Motifs; D000818:Animals; D017360:Arabidopsis; D002107:Caenorhabditis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000201:enzymology; D019175:DNA Methylation; D015254:DNA Modification Methylases / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster; D005057:Eukaryotic Cells / Q000201:enzymology*; D006801:Humans; D018320:Leishmania major / Q000201:enzymology; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000737:chemistry / Q000201:enzymology
chemical_list: D015254:DNA Modification Methylases; D000225:Adenine