Histone methyltransferase

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euchromatic histone-lysine N-methyltransferase 1
Identifiers
Symbol(s)	EHMT1
Entrez	79813
OMIM	607001
RefSeq	NM_024757
UniProt	Q9H9B1
Other data
EC number	2.1.1.43
Locus	Chr. 9 [1]

Histone methyltransferases (HMT) are enzymes, histone-lysine N-methyltransferase and histone-arginine N-methyltransferase, which catalyze the transfer of one to three methyl groups from the cofactor s-adenosylmethionine to lysine and arginine residues of histone proteins. These proteins often contain an SET (Su(var)3-9, Enhancer of Zeste, Trithorax) domain, however the recently discovered HMT Dot1 lacks the characteristic SET domain.

Histone methylation serves in epigenetic gene regulation. Methylated histones bind DNA more tightly, which inhibits transcription.

[edit] See also

• Histone acetyltransferase
• Histone deacetylase
• RNA polymerase control by chromatin structure