Putative DNA-(amino)methyltransferases in Eucaryotes

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)methyl-transferases 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.