Mouse DNA methyltransferase is able to catalyse the transfer of a methyl group to certain CG-containing single-stranded oligonucleotides. The presence of a methylcytosine is required for efficient transfer. This methylcytosine may or may not be on the same oligonucleotide as that containing the accepting CG dinucleotide. When the accepting CG dinucleotide forms part of an unmethylated CG dinucl...

Furaquinocin is a natural polyketide-isoprenoid hybrid (meroterpenoid) that exhibits antitumor activity and is produced by the Streptomyces sp. strain KO-3988. Bioinformatic analysis of furaquinocin biosynthesis has identified Fur7 as a possible prenyltransferase that attaches a geranyl group to an unidentified polyketide scaffold. Here, we report the identification of a physiological polyketid...

Biofuels may represent a promising alternative in terms of energy sustainability and emission control. Until recently, simple compounds including only a single specific functional group was in the focus of the biofuel research while reported data on more complex structures are scarcer. Presence of multiple functional groups can make molecules more attractive for oxidative species providing atta...

Methylphosphonate synthase is a non-heme iron-dependent oxygenase that converts 2-hydroxyethylphosphonate (2-HEP) to methylphosphonate. On the basis of experiments with two enantiomers of a substrate analog, 2-hydroxypropylphosphonate, catalysis is proposed to commence with stereospecific abstraction of the pro-S hydrogen on C2 of the substrate. Experiments with isotopologues of 2-HEP indicate ...

Protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs) aid in the regulation of many biological processes by methylating specific arginyl groups within targeted proteins. The varied nature of the response to methylation is, in part, due to the diverse product specificity displayed by the PRMTs. In addition to site location within a protein, biological response is also determined by the degree (mono/dimeth...

UbiG is a SAM-dependent O-methyltransferase, catalyzing two O-methyl transfer steps for ubiquinone biosynthesis in Escherichia coli. UbiG possesses a unique sequence insertion between β4 and α10, which is used for membrane lipid interaction. Interestingly, this sequence insertion also covers the methyl donor binding pocket. Thus, the relationship between membrane binding and entrance of the met...

Administration of 3,5-dicarbethoxy-1,4-dihydrocollidine (DDC) to rats causes the accumulation of N-methylprotoporphyrin IX, a potent inhibitor of ferrochelatase. To clarify the origin of the porphyrin N-methyl group, we have synthesized and administered to rats N-ethyl-3,5-dicarbethoxy-1,4-dihydrocollidine (N-ethyl DDC) and 3,5-dicarbethoxy-2,6-dimethyl-4-ethyl-1,4-dihydropyridine (DDEP), the D...

Streptosporangium sibiricum SibL catalyzes the methyl transfer from S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) to 3-hydroxykynurenine (3-HK) to produce S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) and 3-hydroxy-4-methyl-kynurenine for sibiromycin biosynthesis. Here, we present the crystal structures of apo-form Ss-SibL, Ss-SibL/SAH binary complex and Ss-SibL/SAH/3-HK ternary complex. Ss-SibL is a homodimer. Each subunit compr...

In mammals, DNA methylation, characterized by the transfer of the methyl group from S-adenosylmethionines to a base (mainly referred to cytosine), acts as a major epigenetic modification. In parallel to DNA sequences arrangement, modification of methylation to DNA sequences has far-reaching influence on biological functions and activities, for it involves controlling gene transcription, regulat...