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Updated: Aug 14, 2026

Analyzing and Building Nucleic Acid Structures with 3DNA
Published on: April 26, 2013
The active site of the SET domain is constructed on a knot
Steven A Jacobs1, Joel M Harp, Srikripa Devarakonda
1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, Virginia 22908, USA.
Abstract:
The SET domain contains the catalytic center of lysine methyltransferases that target the N-terminal tails of histones and regulate chromatin function. Here we report the structure of the SET7/9 protein in the absence and presence of its cofactor product, S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine (AdoHcy). A knot within the SET domain helps form the methyltransferase active site, where AdoHcy binds and lysine methylation is likely to occur. A structure-guided comparison of sequences within the SET protein family suggests that the knot substructure and active site environment are conserved features of the SET domain.
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