Natural history of <Emphasis Type="Italic">S</Emphasis>-adenosylmethionine-binding proteins

Background  

S-adenosylmethionine is a source of diverse chemical groups used in biosynthesis and modification of virtually every class of biomolecules. The most notable reaction requiring S-adenosylmethionine, transfer of methyl group, is performed by a large class of enzymes, S-adenosylmethionine-dependent methyltransferases, which have been the focus of considerable structure-function studies. Evolutionary trajectories of these enzymes, and especially of other classes of S-adenosylmethionine-binding proteins, nevertheless, remain poorly understood. We addressed this issue by computational comparison of sequences and structures of various S-adenosylmethionine-binding proteins.