RCSB PDB - 3B7B: EuHMT1 (Glp) Ankyrin Repeat Domain (Structure 1) (original) (raw)
The ankyrin repeats of G9a and GLP histone methyltransferases are mono- and dimethyllysine binding modules
[Collins, R.E.](/search?q=citation.rcsb%5Fauthors:Collins, R.E.), [Northrop, J.P.](/search?q=citation.rcsb%5Fauthors:Northrop, J.P.), [Horton, J.R.](/search?q=citation.rcsb%5Fauthors:Horton, J.R.), [Lee, D.Y.](/search?q=citation.rcsb%5Fauthors:Lee, D.Y.), [Zhang, X.](/search?q=citation.rcsb%5Fauthors:Zhang, X.), [Stallcup, M.R.](/search?q=citation.rcsb%5Fauthors:Stallcup, M.R.), [Cheng, X.](/search?q=citation.rcsb%5Fauthors:Cheng, X.)
(2008) Nat Struct Mol Biol 15: 245-250
PubMed Abstract:
Histone modifications have important roles in transcriptional control, mitosis and heterochromatin formation. G9a and G9a-like protein (GLP) are euchromatin-associated methyltransferases that repress transcription by mono- and dimethylating histone H3 at Lys9 (H3K9). Here we demonstrate that the ankyrin repeat domains of G9a and GLP bind with strong preference to N-terminal H3 peptides containing mono- or dimethyl K9. X-ray crystallography revealed the basis for recognition of the methylated lysine by a partial hydrophobic cage with three tryptophans and one acidic residue. Substitution of key residues in the cage eliminated the H3 tail interaction. Hence, G9a and GLP contain a new type of methyllysine binding module (the ankyrin repeat domains) and are the first examples of protein (histone) methyltransferases harboring in a single polypeptide the activities that generate and read the same epigenetic mark.
Organizational Affiliation:
Department of Biochemistry, Emory University School of Medicine, 1510 Clifton Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA.