Putative DNA-(amino)methyltransferases in Eucaryotes

B. Yu. Shorning and B. F. Vanyushin^*

Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119899 Russia; fax: (095) 939-3181; E-mail: vanyush@genebee.msu.su

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received November 29, 2000; Revision received February 5, 2001

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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.

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KEY WORDS: animals, adenine DNA-methylase, DNA-(amino)methyltransferases, DNA-methylation, eucaryotes, N⁶-methyladenine, plants, eucaryotes

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