methyltransferase

1 9.1

A protein in cells that adds a small methyl group to other molecules

noun
/ˌmɛθəltrænsfərˈeɪs/

Specialized

: metiltransferasa

These mutations confer a "gain of (methyltransferase) function" to EZH2, determining its oncogenic activity.
histone methyltransferase
DNA methyltransferase
lysine N-methyltransferase

Examples

The methyltransferase enzyme plays a crucial role in regulating gene expression by transferring methyl groups to DNA.
Menin has been described to interact with the CDKN1B gene promoter, enhancing its expression by histone methyltransferase activity modulation.

Academic text (2017)
Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) is one such methyltransferase that methylates lysine-27 of histone H3 (H3-K27).

Academic text (2017)
Researchers discovered that a specific methyltransferase can impact the development of certain diseases.
Scientists are studying how methyltransferase enzymes modify histones, which can influence chromatin structure and function.

Synonyms

transferase

vsmethyltransferase

Specialized

1 8.4

A protein that moves a small chemical part from one molecule to another

is limited to transferring one specific small chemical group rather than many types

Surface Forms

methyltransferase singular

methyltransferases plural

Morphology

methyltransferase = methyl + transfer (transparent) = methyl + transfer + ase

The form is built by productive chemical naming: methyl + transfer (transfer of a methyl group) + the enzyme-forming suffix -ase; the meaning is directly derivable from these parts.

Etymology

Methyltransferase breaks into methyl, meaning 'small chemical group', and transfer plus -ase, where transfer means 'to move' and -ase is the usual ending for words that name 'enzymes'. So, a methyltransferase is an 'enzyme' that 'moves' methyl groups from one molecule to another, which is why it can change how cells and genes work.