New publication in "International Journal of Molecular Science"
The methylation of proteins is an important protein modification
with a variety of functions. Protein methylation is incorporated by protein methyltransferases, the
activity of which must be very well regulated. In this work we investigate a protein methyl
transferase from yeast and show that its activity is controlled via automethylation. As a result,
this enzyme could serve as a cellular sensor for the concentration of the essential methyl group
donor S-adenosyl-L-methionine. Furthermore, our work shows that it is possible to control the
activity of protein methyltransferases by rationally designing automethylation.