Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 29, 2026

Combining X-Ray Crystallography with Small Angle X-Ray Scattering to Model Unstructured Regions of Nsa1 from S. Cerevisiae
Published on: January 10, 2018
SAM domains: uniform structure, diversity of function
Chongwoo A Kim1, James U Bowie
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA-DOE Center for Genomics and Proteomics, Molecular Biology Institute, Boyer Hall, 611 Charles E. Young Drive E, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1570, USA.
Abstract:
Sterile alpha motif (SAM) domains are known to exhibit diverse protein-protein interaction modes. They can form multiple self-association architectures and also bind to various non-SAM domain-containing proteins. Surprising new work adds a completely unanticipated function for some SAM domains - the ability to bind RNA. Such functional diversity within a homologous protein family presents a significant challenge for bioinformatic function assignment.
Related Concept Videos
Conservation of Protein Domains Over Different Proteins
A limited set of protein domains often duplicate and recombine during evolution. These domains can be organized in different combinations to form...
Conservation of Protein Domains
A limited set of protein domains often duplicate and recombine during evolution. These domains can be organized in different combinations to form...
Membrane Domains
Protein Domains
The membrane comprises a group of distinct proteins responsible for carrying out a cell's specific function. For example, the plasma membrane of the human sperm, or a single germ cell, contains a unique set of proteins in the anterior...
Three-Domain System of Life
Conserved Binding Sites
Binding sites are often located in large pockets, and if their location on a protein’s surface is unknown, it can be predicted using various approaches. The energetic method computationally analyses the...
Conserved Binding Sites
Binding sites are often located in large pockets, and if their location on a protein’s surface is unknown, it can be predicted using various approaches. The energetic method computationally analyses the...
