Search results for "modification pathway crosstalk"

The RNA methyltransferase Dnmt2 methylates DNA in the structural context of a tRNA

2016

The amino acid sequence of Dnmt2 is very similar to the catalytic domains of bacterial and eukaryotic DNA-(cytosine 5)-methyltransferases, but it efficiently catalyzes tRNA methylation, while its DNA methyltransferase activity is the subject of controversial reports with rates varying between zero and very weak. By using composite nucleic acid molecules as substrates, we surprisingly found that DNA fragments, when presented as covalent DNA-RNA hybrids in the structural context of a tRNA, can be more efficiently methylated than the corresponding natural tRNA substrate. Furthermore, by stepwise development of tRNAAsp, we showed that this natural Dnmt2 substrate could be engineered to employ R…