New research funding

September 21, 2017 /

Investigation of protein methyltransferases

The DFG supports a researach project of Prof. Jeltsch, which investigates the specificity and biochemical properties of Protein lysine methyltransferases (PKMTs). Aim of this project is to predict and validate new substrates of these enzymes and study the biological role of their methylation. PKMTs were discovered in 2000 when it was shown that SUV39H1 methylates histone H3 at lysine 9. However, several PKMTs that were initially identified as histone modifying enzymes were later found to methylate non-histone substrates as well and protein lysine methylation has been recognized as an important post-translational modification involved in various processes. However, for most described lysine methylation events the responsible PKMT has not been identified and for many of them, the biological role of the methylation is not known. Moreover, for most PKMTs only few substrates have been identified up to now. For this reason, the identification of enzymes responsible for specific protein methylation events is a critical challenge for biochemical research. Moreover, sophisticated experiments addressing the cellular role of specific lysine methylation events are urgently needed.

Contact Prof. Dr. Albert Jeltsch
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