Sulfur-Oxygen Chalcogen Bonding Mediates AdoMet Recognition in the Lysine Methyltransferase SET7/9.

Recent studies have demonstrated that carbon-oxygen (CH···O) hydrogen bonds have important roles in S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) recognition and catalysis in methyltransferases. Here, we investigate noncovalent interactions that occur between the AdoMet sulfur cation and oxygen atoms in methyltransferase active sites. These interactions represent sulfur-oxygen (S···O) chalcogen bonds in which the oxygen atom donates a lone pair of electrons to the σ antibonding orbital of the AdoMet sulfur atom. Structural, biochemical, and computational analyses of an asparagine mutation in the lysine methyltransferase SET7/9 that abolishes AdoMet S···O chalcogen bonding reveal that this interaction enhances substrate binding affinity relative to the product S-adenosylhomocysteine. Corroborative quantum mechanical calculations demonstrate that sulfonium systems form strong S···O chalcogen bonds relative to their neutral thioether counterparts. An inspection of high-resolution crystal structures reveals the presence of AdoMet S···O chalcogen bonding in different classes of methyltransferases, illustrating that these interactions are not limited to SET domain methyltransferases. Together, these results demonstrate that S···O chalcogen bonds contribute to AdoMet recognition and can enable methyltransferases to distinguish between substrate and product.

Calmodulin Methyltransferase Is Required for Growth, Muscle Strength, Somatosensory Development and Brain Function.

Calmodulin lysine methyl transferase (CaM KMT) is ubiquitously expressed and highly conserved from plants to vertebrates. CaM is frequently trimethylated at Lys-115, however, the role of CaM methylation in vertebrates has not been studied. CaM KMT was found to be homozygously deleted in the 2P21 deletion syndrome that includes 4 genes. These patients present with cystinuria, severe intellectual disabilities, hypotonia, mitochondrial disease and facial dysmorphism. Two siblings with deletion of three of the genes included in the 2P21 deletion syndrome presented with cystinuria, hypotonia, a mild/moderate mental retardation and a respiratory chain complex IV deficiency. To be able to attribute the functional significance of the methylation of CaM in the mouse and the contribution of CaM KMT to the clinical presentation of the 2p21deletion patients, we produced a mouse model lacking only CaM KMT with deletion borders as in the human 2p21deletion syndrome. No compensatory activity for CaM methylation was found. Impairment of complexes I and IV, and less significantly III, of the mitochondrial respiratory chain was more pronounced in the brain than in muscle. CaM KMT is essential for normal body growth and somatosensory development, as well as for the proper functioning of the adult mouse brain. Developmental delay was demonstrated for somatosensory function and for complex behavior, which involved both basal motor function and motivation. The mutant mice also had deficits in motor learning, complex coordination and learning of aversive stimuli. The mouse model contributes to the evaluation of the role of methylated CaM. CaM methylation appears to have a role in growth, muscle strength, somatosensory development and brain function. The current study has clinical implications for human patients. Patients presenting slow growth and muscle weakness that could result from a mitochondrial impairment and mental retardation should be considered for sequence analysis of the CaM KMT gene.

Manipulating unconventional CH-based hydrogen bonding in a methyltransferase via noncanonical amino acid mutagenesis.

Recent studies have demonstrated that the active sites of S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet)-dependent methyltransferases form strong carbon-oxygen (CH···O) hydrogen bonds with the substrate's sulfonium group that are important in AdoMet binding and catalysis. To probe these interactions, we substituted the noncanonical amino acid p-aminophenylalanine (pAF) for the active site tyrosine in the lysine methyltransferase SET7/9, which forms multiple CH···O hydrogen bonds to AdoMet and is invariant in SET domain enzymes. Using quantum chemistry calculations to predict the mutation's effects, coupled with biochemical and structural studies, we observed that pAF forms a strong CH···N hydrogen bond to AdoMet that is offset by an energetically unfavorable amine group rotamer within the SET7/9 active site that hinders AdoMet binding and activity. Together, these results illustrate that the invariant tyrosine in SET domain methyltransferases functions as an essential hydrogen bonding hub and cannot be readily substituted by residues bearing other hydrogen bond acceptors.

An intergenic region shared by At4g35985 and At4g35987 in Arabidopsis thaliana is a tissue specific and stress inducible bidirectional promoter analyzed in transgenic arabidopsis and tobacco plants.

On chromosome 4 in the Arabidopsis genome, two neighboring genes (calmodulin methyl transferase At4g35987 and senescence associated gene At4g35985) are located in a head-to-head divergent orientation sharing a putative bidirectional promoter. This 1258 bp intergenic region contains a number of environmental stress responsive and tissue specific cis-regulatory elements. Transcript analysis of At4g35985 and At4g35987 genes by quantitative real time PCR showed tissue specific and stress inducible expression profiles. We tested the bidirectional promoter-function of the intergenic region shared by the divergent genes At4g35985 and At4g35987 using two reporter genes (GFP and GUS) in both orientations in transient tobacco protoplast and Agro-infiltration assays, as well as in stably transformed transgenic Arabidopsis and tobacco plants. In transient assays with GFP and GUS reporter genes the At4g35985 promoter (P85) showed stronger expression (about 3.5 fold) compared to the At4g35987 promoter (P87). The tissue specific as well as stress responsive functional nature of the bidirectional promoter was evaluated in independent transgenic Arabidopsis and tobacco lines. Expression of P85 activity was detected in the midrib of leaves, leaf trichomes, apical meristemic regions, throughout the root, lateral roots and flowers. The expression of P87 was observed in leaf-tip, hydathodes, apical meristem, root tips, emerging lateral root tips, root stele region and in floral tissues. The bidirectional promoter in both orientations shows differential up-regulation (2.5 to 3 fold) under salt stress. Use of such regulatory elements of bidirectional promoters showing spatial and stress inducible promoter-functions in heterologous system might be an important tool for plant biotechnology and gene stacking applications.

Calmodulin-mediated signal transduction pathways in Arabidopsis are fine-tuned by methylation.

Calmodulin N-methyltransferase (CaM KMT) is an evolutionarily conserved enzyme in eukaryotes that transfers three methyl groups to a highly conserved lysyl residue at position 115 in calmodulin (CaM). We sought to elucidate whether the methylation status of CaM plays a role in CaM-mediated signaling pathways by gene expression analyses of CaM KMT and phenotypic characterization of Arabidopsis thaliana lines wherein CaM KMT was overexpressed (OX), partially silenced, or knocked out. CaM KMT was expressed in discreet spatial and tissue-specific patterns, most notably in root tips, floral buds, stamens, apical meristems, and germinating seeds. Analysis of transgenic plants with genetic dysfunction in CaM KMT revealed a link between the methylation status of CaM and root length. Plants with suppressed CaM methylation had longer roots and CaM KMT OX lines had shorter roots than wild type (Columbia-0). CaM KMT was also found to influence the root radial developmental program. Protein microarray analyses revealed a number of proteins with specificity for methylated forms of CaM, providing candidate functional intermediates between the observed phenotypes and the target pathways. This work demonstrates that the functionality of the large CaM family in plants is fine-tuned by an overarching methylation mechanism.

Conservation and functional importance of carbon-oxygen hydrogen bonding in AdoMet-dependent methyltransferases.

S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet)-based methylation is integral to metabolism and signaling. AdoMet-dependent methyltransferases belong to multiple distinct classes and share a catalytic mechanism that arose through convergent evolution; however, fundamental determinants underlying this shared methyl transfer mechanism remain undefined. A survey of high-resolution crystal structures reveals that unconventional carbon-oxygen (CH···O) hydrogen bonds coordinate the AdoMet methyl group in different methyltransferases irrespective of their class, active site structure, or cofactor binding conformation. Corroborating these observations, quantum chemistry calculations demonstrate that these charged interactions formed by the AdoMet sulfonium cation are stronger than typical CH···O hydrogen bonds. Biochemical and structural studies using a model lysine methyltransferase and an active site mutant that abolishes CH···O hydrogen bonding to AdoMet illustrate that these interactions are important for high-affinity AdoMet binding and transition-state stabilization. Further, crystallographic and NMR dynamics experiments of the wild-type enzyme demonstrate that the CH···O hydrogen bonds constrain the motion of the AdoMet methyl group, potentially facilitating its alignment during catalysis. Collectively, the experimental findings with the model methyltransferase and structural survey imply that methyl CH···O hydrogen bonding represents a convergent evolutionary feature of AdoMet-dependent methyltransferases, mediating a universal mechanism for methyl transfer.

Utilization of a calmodulin lysine methyltransferase co-expression system for the generation of a combinatorial library of post-translationally modified proteins.

By successfully incorporating sequence diversity into proteins, combinatorial libraries have been a staple technology used in protein engineering, directed evolution, and synthetic biology for generating proteins with novel specificities and activities. However, these approaches mostly overlook the incorporations of post-translational modifications, which nature extensively uses for modulating protein activities in vivo. As an initial step of incorporating post-translational modifications into combinatorial libraries, we present a bacterial co-expression system, utilizing a recently characterized calmodulin methyltransferase (CaM KMT), to trimethylate a combinatorial library of the calmodulin central linker region. We show that this system is robust, with the successful over-expression and post-translational modification performed in Escherichia coli. Furthermore we show that trimethylation differentially affected the conformational dynamics of the protein upon the binding of calcium, and the thermal stability of the apoprotein. Collectively, these data support that when applied to an appropriately designed protein library scaffold, CaM KMT is able to produce a post-translationally modified library of protein sequences, thus providing a powerful tool for future protein library designs and constructions.

Calmodulin methyltransferase is an evolutionarily conserved enzyme that trimethylates Lys-115 in calmodulin.

Calmodulin (CaM) is a key mediator of calcium-dependent signalling and is subject to regulatory post-translational modifications, including trimethylation of Lys-115. In this paper, we identify a class I, non-SET domain protein methyltransferase, calmodulin-lysine N-methyltransferase (EC 2.1.1.60). A polypeptide chosen from a fraction enriched in calmodulin methyltransferase activity was trypsinized and analysed by tandem mass spectrometry. The amino-acid sequence obtained identified conserved, homologous proteins of unknown function across a wide range of species, thus implicating a broad role for lysine methylation in calcium-dependent signalling. Encoded by c2orf34, the human homologue is a component of two related multigene deletion syndromes in humans. Human, rat, frog, insect and plant homologues were cloned and Escherichia coli-recombinant proteins catalysed the formation of a trimethyllysyl residue at position 115 in CaM, as verified by product analyses and mass spectrometry.

SET7/9 catalytic mutants reveal the role of active site water molecules in lysine multiple methylation.

SET domain lysine methyltransferases (KMTs) methylate specific lysine residues in histone and non-histone substrates. These enzymes also display product specificity by catalyzing distinct degrees of methylation of the lysine ε-amino group. To elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying this specificity, we have characterized the Y245A and Y305F mutants of the human KMT SET7/9 (also known as KMT7) that alter its product specificity from a monomethyltransferase to a di- and a trimethyltransferase, respectively. Crystal structures of these mutants in complex with peptides bearing unmodified, mono-, di-, and trimethylated lysines illustrate the roles of active site water molecules in aligning the lysine ε-amino group for methyl transfer with S-adenosylmethionine. Displacement or dissociation of these solvent molecules enlarges the diameter of the active site, accommodating the increasing size of the methylated ε-amino group during successive methyl transfer reactions. Together, these results furnish new insights into the roles of active site water molecules in modulating lysine multiple methylation by SET domain KMTs and provide the first molecular snapshots of the mono-, di-, and trimethyl transfer reactions catalyzed by these enzymes.

Rubisco in complex with Rubisco large subunit methyltransferase.

SET domain protein lysine methyltransferases (PKMT) are a structurally unique class of enzymes that catalyze the specific methylation of lysine residues in a number of different substrates. Especially histone-specific SET domain PKMTs have received widespread attention because of their roles in the regulation of epigenetic gene expression and the development of some cancers. Rubisco large subunit methyltransferase (RLSMT) is a chloroplast-localized SET domain PKMT responsible for the formation of trimethyl-lysine-14 in the large subunit of Rubisco, an essential photosynthetic enzyme. Here, we have used cryoelectron microscopy to produce an 11-A density map of the Rubisco-RLSMT complex. The atomic model of the complex, obtained by fitting crystal structures of Rubisco and RLSMT into the density map, shows that the extensive contact regions between the 2 proteins are mainly mediated by hydrophobic residues and leucine-rich repeats. It further provides insights into potential conformational changes that may occur during substrate binding and catalysis. This study presents the first structural analysis of a SET domain PKMT in complex with its intact polypeptide substrate.

Rubisco oligomers composed of linked small and large subunits assemble in tobacco plastids and have higher affinities for CO2 and O2.

Manipulation of Rubisco within higher plants is complicated by the different genomic locations of the large (L; rbcL) and small (S; RbcS) subunit genes. Although rbcL can be accurately modified by plastome transformation, directed genetic manipulation of the multiple nuclear-encoded RbcS genes is more challenging. Here we demonstrate the viability of linking the S and L subunits of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) Rubisco using a flexible 40-amino acid tether. By replacing the rbcL in tobacco plastids with an artificial gene coding for a S40L fusion peptide, we found that the fusions readily assemble into catalytic (S40L)8 and (S40L)16 oligomers that are devoid of unlinked S subunits. While there was little or no change in CO2/O2 specificity or carboxylation rate of the Rubisco oligomers, their Kms for CO2 and O2 were reduced 10% to 20% and 45%, respectively. In young maturing leaves of the plastome transformants (called ANtS40L), the S40L-Rubisco levels were approximately 20% that of wild-type controls despite turnover of the S40L-Rubisco oligomers being only slightly enhanced relative to wild type. The reduced Rubisco content in ANtS40L leaves is partly attributed to problems with folding and assembly of the S40L peptides in tobacco plastids that relegate approximately 30% to 50% of the S40L pool to the insoluble protein fraction. Leaf CO2-assimilation rates in ANtS40L at varying pCO2 corresponded with the kinetics and reduced content of the Rubisco oligomers. This fusion strategy provides a novel platform to begin simultaneously engineering Rubisco L and S subunits in tobacco plastids.

Structural origins for the product specificity of SET domain protein methyltransferases.

SET domain protein lysine methyltransferases (PKMTs) regulate transcription and other cellular functions through site-specific methylation of histones and other substrates. PKMTs catalyze the formation of monomethylated, dimethylated, or trimethylated products, establishing an additional hierarchy with respect to methyllysine recognition in signaling. Biochemical studies of PKMTs have identified a conserved position within their active sites, the Phe/Tyr switch, that governs their respective product specificities. To elucidate the mechanism underlying this switch, we have characterized a Phe/Tyr switch mutant of the histone H4 Lys-20 (H4K20) methyltransferase SET8, which alters its specificity from a monomethyltransferase to a dimethyltransferase. The crystal structures of the SET8 Y334F mutant bound to histone H4 peptides bearing unmodified, monomethyl, and dimethyl Lys-20 reveal that the phenylalanine substitution attenuates hydrogen bonding to a structurally conserved water molecule adjacent to the Phe/Tyr switch, facilitating its dissociation. The additional space generated by the solvent's dissociation enables the monomethyllysyl side chain to adopt a conformation that is catalytically competent for dimethylation and furnishes sufficient volume to accommodate the dimethyl epsilon-ammonium product. Collectively, these results indicate that the Phe/Tyr switch regulates product specificity through altering the affinity of an active-site water molecule whose dissociation is required for lysine multiple methylation.

Insights into the substrate specificity of plant peptide deformylase, an essential enzyme with potential for the development of novel biotechnology applications in agriculture.

The crystal structure of AtPDF1B [Arabidopsis thaliana PDF (peptide deformylase) 1B; EC 3.5.1.88], a plant specific deformylase, has been determined at a resolution of 2.4 A (1 A=0.1 nm). The overall fold of AtPDF1B is similar to other peptide deformylases that have been reported. Evidence from the crystal structure and gel filtration chromatography indicates that AtPDF1B exists as a symmetric dimer. PDF1B is essential in plants and has a preferred substrate specificity towards the PS II (photosystem II) D1 polypeptide. Comparative analysis of AtPDF1B, AtPDF1A, and the type 1B deformylase from Escherichia coli, identifies a number of differences in substrate binding subsites that might account for variations in sequence preference. A model of the N-terminal five amino acids from the D1 polypeptide bound in the active site of AtPDF1B suggests an influence of Tyr(178) as a structural determinant for polypeptide substrate specificity through hydrogen bonding with Thr(2) in the D1 sequence. Kinetic analyses using a polypeptide mimic of the D1 N-terminus was performed on AtPDF1B mutated at Tyr(178) to alanine, phenylalanine or arginine (equivalent residue in AtPDF1A). The results suggest that, whereas Tyr(178) can influence catalytic activity, other residues contribute to the overall preference for the D1 polypeptide.

Co- and post-translational modifications in Rubisco: unanswered questions.

Both the large (LS) and small (SS) subunits of Rubisco are subject to a plethora of co- and post-translational modifications. With the exceptions of LS carbamylation and SS transit sequence processing, the remaining modifications, including deformylation, acetylation, methylation, and N-terminal proteolytic processing of the LS, are still biochemically and/or functionally undefined although they are found in nearly all forms of Rubisco from vascular plants. A collection of relatively unique enzymes catalyse these modifications, and several have been characterized in other organisms. Some of the observed modifications in the LS and SS clearly suggest novel changes in enzyme specificity and/or activity, and others have common features with other co- and post-translationally modifying enzymes. With the possible exception of Lys14 methylation in the LS, processing of both the LS and SS of Rubisco is by default an ordered process sequentially leading up to the final forms observed in the holoenzyme. An overview of the nature of structural modifications in the LS and SS of Rubisco is presented, and, where possible, the nature of the enzymes catalysing these modifications (either through similarity with other known enzymes or through direct enzymological characterization) is described. Overall, there are a distinct lack of functional and mechanistic observations for modifications in Rubisco and thus represent many potentially productive avenues for research.

Changing transcriptional initiation sites and alternative 5'- and 3'-splice site selection of the first intron deploys Arabidopsis protein isoaspartyl methyltransferase2 variants to different subcellular compartments.

Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. possesses two PROTEIN-L-ISOASPARTATE METHYLTRANSFERASE (PIMT) genes encoding enzymes (EC 2.1.1.77) capable of converting uncoded l-isoaspartyl residues, arising spontaneously at l-asparaginyl and l-aspartyl sites in proteins, to l-aspartate. PIMT2 produces at least eight transcripts by using four transcriptional initiation sites (TIS; resulting in three different initiating methionines) and both 5'- and 3'-alternative splice site selection of the first intron. The transcripts produce mature proteins capable of converting l-isoaspartate to l-aspartate in small peptide substrates. PIMT:GFP fusion proteins generated a detectable signal in the nucleus. However, whether the protein was also detectable in the cytoplasm, endo-membrane system, chloroplasts, and/or mitochondria, depended on the transcript from which it was produced. On-blot-methylation of proteins, prior to the completion of germination, indicated that cruciferin subunits contain isoaspartate. The implications of using transcriptional mechanisms to expand a single gene's repertoire to protein variants capable of entry into the cell's various compartments are discussed in light of PIMT's presumed role in repairing the proteome.

Polypeptide substrate specificity of PsLSMT. A set domain protein methyltransferase.

Rubisco large subunit methyltransferase (PsLSMT) is a SET domain protein responsible for the trimethylation of Lys-14 in the large subunit of Rubisco. The polypeptide substrate specificity determinants for pea Rubisco large subunit methyltransferase were investigated using a fusion protein construct between the first 23 amino acids from the large subunit of Rubisco and human carbonic anhydrase II. A total of 40 conservative and non-conservative amino acid substitutions flanking the target Lys-14 methylation site (positions P(-3) to P(+3)) were engineered in the fusion protein. The catalytic efficiency (k(cat)/K(m)) of PsLSMT was determined using each of the substitutions and a polypeptide consensus recognition sequence deduced from the results. The consensus sequence, represented by X-(Gly/Ser)-(Phe/Tyr)-Lys-(Ala/Lys/Arg)-(Gly/Ser)-pi, where X is any residue, Lys is the methylation site, and pi is any aromatic or hydrophobic residue, was used to predict potential alternative substrates for PsLSMT. Four chloroplast-localized proteins were identified including gamma-tocopherol methyltransferase (gamma-TMT). In vitro methylation assays using PsLSMT and a bacterially expressed form of gamma-TMT from Perilla frutescens confirmed recognition and methylation of gamma-TMT by PsLSMT in vitro. RNA interference-mediated knockdown of the PsLSMT homologue (NtLSMT) in transgenic tobacco plants resulted in a 2-fold decrease of alpha-tocopherol, the product of gamma-TMT. The results demonstrate the efficacy of consensus sequence-driven identification of alternative substrates for PsLSMT as well as identification of functional attributes of protein methylation catalyzed by LSMT.

Kinetic manifestation of processivity during multiple methylations catalyzed by SET domain protein methyltransferases.

Processive versus distributive methyl group transfer was assessed for pea Rubisco large subunit methyltransferase, a SET domain protein lysine methyltransferase catalyzing the formation of trimethyllysine-14 in the large subunit of Rubisco. Catalytically competent complexes between an immobilized form of des(methyl) Rubisco and Rubisco large subunit methyltransferase were used to demonstrate enzyme release that was co-incident with and dependent on formation of trimethyllysine. Catalytic rate constants determined for formation of trimethyllysine were considerably lower ( approximately 10-fold) than rate constants determined for total radiolabel incorporation from [3H-methyl]-S-adenosylmethionine. Double-reciprocal velocity plots under catalytic conditions favoring monomethyllysine indicated a random or ordered reaction mechanism, while conditions favoring trimethyllysine suggested a hybrid ping-pong mechanism. These results were compared with double-reciprocal velocity plots and product analyses obtained for HsSET7/9 (a monomethyltransferase) and SpCLR4 (a dimethyltransferase) and suggest a predictive ability of double-reciprocal velocity plots for single versus multiple methyl group transfers by SET domain protein lysine methyltransferases. A model is proposed for SET domain protein lysine methyltransferases in which initial binding of polypeptide substrate and S-adenosylmethionine is random, with polypeptide binding followed by deprotonation of the epsilon-amine of the target lysyl residue and subsequent methylation. Following methyl group transfer, S-adenosylhomocysteine and monomethylated polypeptide dissociate from monomethyltransferases, but di- and trimethyltransferases begin a successive and catalytically obligatory deprotonation of enzyme-bound methylated lysyl intermediates, which along with binding and release of S-adenosylmethionine and S-adenosylhomocysteine is manifested as a hybrid ping-pong-like reaction mechanism.

Plant peptide deformylase: a novel selectable marker and herbicide target based on essential cotranslational chloroplast protein processing.

Transgenic tobacco plants expressing three different forms of Arabidopsis plant peptide deformylase (AtDEF1.1, AtDEF1.2 and AtDEF2; EC 3.5.1.88) were evaluated for resistance to actinonin, a naturally occurring peptide deformylase inhibitor. Over-expression of either AtDEF1.2 or AtDEF2 resulted in resistance to actinonin, but over-expression of AtDEF1.1 did not. Immunological analyses demonstrated that AtDEF1.2 and AtDEF2 enzymes were present in both stromal and thylakoid fractions in chloroplasts, but AtDEF1.1 was localized to mitochondria. The highest enzyme activity was associated with stromal AtDEF2, which was approximately 180-fold greater than the level of endogenous activity in the host plant. Resistance to actinonin cosegregated with kanamycin resistance in Atdef1.2-D and Atdef2-D transgenic plants. Here, we demonstrate that the combination of plant peptide deformylase and peptide deformylase inhibitors may represent a native gene selectable marker system for chloroplast and nuclear transformation vectors, and also suggest plant peptide deformylase as a potential broad-spectrum herbicide target.

7 Non-histone protein lysine methyltransferases: Structure and catalytic roles.

Non-histone protein lysine methyltransferases (PKMTs) represent an exceptionally diverse and large group of PKMTs. Even accepting the possibility of multiple protein substrates, if the number of different proteins with methylated lysyl residues and the number of residues modified is indicative of individual PKMTs there are well over a hundred uncharacterized PKMTs. Astoundingly, only a handful of PKMTs have been studied, and of these only a few with identifiable and well-characterized structure and biochemical properties. Four representative PKMTs responsible for trimethyllysyl residues in ribosomal protein LI 1, calmodulin, cytochrome c, and Rubisco are herein examined for enzymological properties, polypeptide substrate specificity, functional significance, and structural characteristics. Although representative of non-histone PKMTs, and enzymes for whichcollectively there is a large amount of information, individually each of the PKMTs discussed in this chapter suffers from a lack of at least some critical information. Other than the obvious commonality in the AdoMet substrate cofactor and methyl group transfer, these enzymes do not have common structural features, polypeptide substrate specificity, or protein sequence. However, there may be a commonality that supports the hypothesis that methylated lysyl residues act as global determinants regulating specific protein-protein interactions.